


Doppelganger

by FiveExclamations



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crime Fighting, F/M, Het, Love/Hate, Politics, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-18
Updated: 2013-10-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 05:48:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 81,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/808007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiveExclamations/pseuds/FiveExclamations
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Against a backdrop of complicated politics and crime Kira Nerys has to deal with someone the image of an old enemy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Devil you don't know.

**Author's Note:**

> Kira Nerys/Gul Macet, some Kira Nerys/Odo . Set after the end of the series. Spoilers for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At a difficult time in her life Kira has to deal with someone with the face of an old enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic with some background KiraNerys/Odo, rated a cautions M for future chapters. Set after the end of the series. Spoilers for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd so any stuff ups are all mine.

 

The devil you don't know

"Colonel!"

Kira Nerys closed her eyes for a moment, fighting down a wave of... what? It wasn't revulsion, or hatred, it was more like... _confusion_. Like a Bajoran Timpani band crashing about in her head with emotions for instruments.

She squared her shoulders and turned. There it was, the face that went with that voice, uncannily like Gul Dukat, yet with disconcerting differences; looking at him felt like re-visiting a place you once knew well and finding new trees had grown and new houses had been built. It was horribly uncomfortable.

She drew a deep breath. "What can I do for you Gul Macet?"

Equally disconcerting as his appearance was his manner, a slight hesitancy whenever he was in her presence, that was so alien to a façade she associated with endless arrogance and a constant invasion of both her physical and mental personal space.

"I apologise for accosting you," he said, his voice even, almost indifferent. "I have a message from Ambassador Lang; she wonders if you would join her for dinner this evening in her quarters, at 20:00 hours?"

Kira raked a hand through her hair, trying to form a diplomatic reply. As far as it went she quite liked the Ambassador, admired her even, but everything was complicated by First Minister Shakaar and his blocking of peace talks with the Cardasians. However much Kira disapproved she needed to consider carefully any social engagement that might give her old lover an excuse to question her impartiality when she tackled him on the subject, but... A little ball of anger and anxiety started to roll in her belly when she thought about what Second Minister Asarem Wadeen had told her about Shakaar's manipulation of the peace talks; should she worry about the opinion of a man who was betraying Bajor's best interest to suit some convoluted plan of revenge?  _Especially_  when he'd left her to the wolves when she was attainted by the Vedek Assembly?

Sadly, she realised that she had more faith in a Cardassian she'd met only a few times then she did in her own planet's leader and worse, her ex lover.

With a start she realised she'd been staring silently over Macet's shoulder, probably with her emotions playing out across her face if his polite but faintly bemused expression was anything to go by. Again, she had that warped sense of seeing two people at once; Gul Dukat would be smirking at her distraction, stepping into her space,  _his breath on her cheek, his proximity crawling up and down her skin and in through her eyes and mouth to churn through her veins, making her so, so angry_.

Macet shifted his weight and coughed, snapping Kira back to herself again; she found her hands had balled into fists and felt a blush creep up her neck, under her uniform. If the Gul noticed he gave no sign and ridiculously that made her crosser still. However, her new role came with new responsibilities and new expectations, including that she would not punch diplomats even when  _she_  couldn't control her feelings around them. She forced her hands to relax and nodded stiffly, "Please tell the Ambassador I'd be delighted."

He looked at her silently, for a long moment, then nodded courteously and turned away. She watched him go, crossing the bridge above the promenade, looking about him with interest. It was another difference between the cousins; Dukat had rarely looked at his surroundings, probably from sheer self-absorption.

However much their surface was alike, somehow she was going to have to accept that under the skin, Skrain Dukat and Akellen Macet were very different men.

Either that or the later was a  _very_  good actor.

...

Kira had carefully considered what to wear for her dinner with Ambassador Lang. She wanted to show the woman the respect she deserved, which normally meant dress uniform, but at the same time she did not want this meal to be viewed as a diplomatic meeting; essentially, she wanted to send a clear message that this was a social visit.

Accordingly she choose an outfit from her limited supply of formal off duty wear, a loose pair of trousers of a silky fabric and a fitted, crossover top in a rougher texture and a darker, woody purple shade that Jadzia had once said contrasted nicely with her hair. Rummaging in a cupboard, she found a bottle of aged spring wine that someone had given her at the last gratitude festival, to take as an offering, and taking a deep breath, set off for Ambassador Lang's quarters.

The downside of her casual dress was that it caught the attention of everyone she passed; Colonel Kira out of uniform was a rare sight and people tended to double take and notice the bottle in her hand. Finally, when she reached the door of the Ambassador's quarters and pressed the chime, she was in clear view of two Bajoran security men, a Bajoran woman she recognised from one of the shops on the promenade and of course the Cardassian guard standing outside the door.

Word would  _certainly_  get around.

"Enter."

Kira nodded out of politeness to the Cardassian guard, who ignored her, and stepped through the opening door. Only as the door shushed shut behind her did she realise that the voice had not been the musical cadence of Ambassador Lang, but the far more masculine and familiar tones of Gul Macet.

She froze just inside the door; the Gul was sitting in the window, his impassive gaze upon her, apparently just disturbed from a little star gazing. Kira looked around searching for any sigh of Natima, but unless she was hiding in the bedroom, perhaps waiting to jump out and shout "surprise", she was not there. She shot a look of enquiry at Macet, pushing down the automatic adrenaline rush that came from being enclosed with a Cardassian in uniform, never mind one who looked like  _him,_  until she heard what he had to say.

He stood up slowly, almost carefully, making no move to close the distance between them. "Ambassador Lang sends her apologies; she has just received several communications from our government and has had to go to our ship to decode them. She will join us as soon as she can and has asked me to entertain you in the meantime." He gestured to a table, set to one side, with places for three. On the sideboard a variety of dishes and drinks, mostly Cardassian and Bajoran were waiting.

Kira's natural instinct was to turn on her heel and walk out, but she stopped herself; this was  _not_ Dukat. This man had never commanded an internment camp, or a mining station. This man had spent every year, of every military campaign he had been involved in, on his ship, obeying the commands of people like Dukat; he had killed Bajorans, ship against ship, soldier against soldier, but never preaching that subjugation was for their own good; hating him for his war record would be preposterously hypocritical.

This man had joined Damar's rebellion; this man had worked for peace with Captain Picard.

This man had spoken up against his own government, when that was a dangerous thing to do _and_ somehow survived it.

She knew all this because she'd read every scrap of information the Bajoran militia and the Federation had on him. It behoved her to treat him with some respect, and caution of course. She tilted the bottle in her hand to show him the label. "Where shall I put this?"

...

The food was very good. Macet managed to be courteous without fussing; he didn't pull out her seat, or insist on fetching her food, but he did wait until she had served herself before filling his own plate, and when he realised that she hadn't sat down he politely indicated that she should choose her own seat.

"Does Ambassador Lang have anything specific she wishes to talk to me about?" asked Kira, before taking a bite of Mapa bread spread with a delicate fish pate.

Macet paused and seemed to consider the question, "I don't think so. I think she just wanted a change of company."

Kira cocked her head on one side, "What about you, how do you find the company aboard the station?"

"I find very little company at all, as I'm sure you have noticed. I try and stay out of sight, except for when it's strictly necessary." The Gul compressed his lips, "As we have discussed, my face hardly evokes pleasant memories for the inhabitants of this station."

Kira nodded. "How do you feel about that?" she asked bluntly, wanting to see his reaction.

Macet lowered his forkful of Veklava on to his plate. "I feel it is understandable. I feel it is kinder to stay out of the way when I am not needed but I feel no compunction in being visible when it  _is_  needed. For example, I am aware that I make you uncomfortable, but I  _feel_  no need to do anything about it. I am not Dukat." For the first time she heard irritation in his voice, well controlled, but still there.

She raised her eyes from her plate and met his steady, cool blue ones, so unusual in a Cardassian. Ironically, his emotion reassured her more than his careful impassivity had. She felt herself flush, "I'm sorry," she said, with her sometimes devastating candour. "I wish I could separate your face from, from  _him."_

The Gul took a sip of red leaf tea, "I am open to suggestions Colonel."

Kira thought for a moment, "Tell me about your family?"

"My Father came from Lakat. He met my mother at the University of Culat, where he was studying military science and she was studying medicine. As the sixth of eight children and the third of three daughters, she had such a small dowry that she wasn't expected to marry. So, she used it to study for a career. My father," Macet smiled into his cup, "defied his own parents, who were determined that he would make a good match, and married her as soon as they had both graduated  _and_  three days before he was due to ship out on a three month mission." Macet raised unguarded eyes to look at Kira, she could see his pride in his parents  _shining_  from him. "I was born ten months later. My father left the military and became a professor of tactics at a provincial university, where farmer's sons went in the hope of becoming soldiers and escaping the plough. My mother became a surgeon at the local hospital. I have one sister." He paused and cocked his head on one side, as if inviting her to comment.

"That's a small family for a Cardassian couple," obliged Kira.

Macet nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Intentionally so, my parents disagreed with the Cardassian tradition of large families. They considered it incompatible with our planet's lack of resources, that it fostered an overly militaristic agenda."

"Oh." Kira frowned and started pushing some Rigellian paka beans around her plate, thinking about what he was telling her. It was all consistent with what she had read in his file, but still interesting. "What about you, are you married? Any children?" Again, she asked a question she essentially knew the answer to.

"Yes, I am married. We have no children."

"I'm sorry," said Kira, honestly.

Macet raised a brow ridge. "Sorry? Why?"

She gave him a startled look, "I thought all Cardassians were desperate to have children?"

He smiled grimly, "My wife does not want children. At first because she wanted to wait until my career was established and later... let us just say, we grew apart."

"I'm sorr-," Kira broke off realising that she was repeating herself, "I see."

"No need to be  _sorry_  Colonel," responded Macet cheerfully. "She is happy pursuing her artistic interests. I believe her current lover is a member of the Cardassian arts council, and considering what little art is left intact on Cardassia I should imagine he has a lot of time for her," he gave the Colonel a tight, dry little smile. "More time than I ever did.  _I_ , until the beginning of Damar's rebellion, had had a long term relationship with my ship's science officer."

Kira tried to hide her surprise, "What happened?"

"She didn't want to join the rebellion and left my ship." His expression became a little sad, "I have not been able to find her since. Though I have no interest in resuming our relationship I would like to know if she survived."

Kira topped up her wine glass. "War hardly promotes a stable love life," her mind drifted to Odo and resolutely turned away.

"No Colonel, it does not." He sipped his tea again. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course," she shrugged; he had probably read her file too.

"Were you and my cousin ever in a romantic relationship?"

She choked on her spring wine. "No!" she finally managed to splutter, after Macet had slapped her on the back, immediately withdrawing to a polite distance when it was obvious she wasn't in any danger. "Why would you... Who said we were..." her face twisted in distaste, "romantic?" she spat the word like a curse.

He shrugged, "I met my cousin from time to time and on the last few occasions," he thought for a moment, "over the last four or five years I think, more in the early part of that period, he spoke of you. Though he never actually said you were intimate, it was clear that he was interested in that outcome and your discomfort around me... I wasn't sure whether that was causing it," he shrugged again.

"He might have been interested, but..." Kira paused and took a deep breath through her nose. "He made, _overtures_ , I suppose. I never seriously thought that he really expected me to give in to them. I always assumed it was to throw me off balance, to put me on the back foot." She huffed irritably, "Did you know that my  _mother_  was one of his women? I only found out a couple of years ago, and it wasn't like he had a chance before but..." she pulled a face as her stomach churned at the thought.

Macet's expression mirrored hers, "No. However it does not surprise me. I doubt if it would be any comfort to you, but for a time my wife was  _also_  one of his women."

Kira flumped back into her chair, her mouth hanging open, the situation was just so ridiculous; here she was having dinner with the image of Gul Dukat, discussing Gul Dukat's love life. She snorted and then, inappropriately, started to giggle. Her host raised his brow ridges but let her laugh without interruption, which emphasised just how unlike Dukat he was. Dukat's pride would have been lacerated; Macet seemed at most, faintly irritated. Finally, a soft chirrup made her jump and hiccup into silence. Macet stood up and crossed to the other side of the room, where a Cardassian pad lay on a table. He grunted in surprise, "A message from Natima, the communications are taking more time than she envisioned and she will be staying aboard our ship all night. She apologises for being such a poor host and hopes I am looking after you adequately. His eyes strayed to the table where both their plates were relatively untouched. "I'm not sure I can reassure her on that point."

Kira looked up at him and held out her glass. "Give me some more wine and I'll see if I can do some justice to this meal."

He gave her the suggestion of a smile, the first one she recalled seeing on his face. "Very well Colonel."

"Call me Nerys, your cousin used to do it without my permission. Think how  _annoyed_  he'd be that I've invited you to."

His mouth twitched, "And I am Akellan," he said gravely, topping up her glass.

...

Akellan Macet turned out to be good and surprisingly easy company. By mutual, if unspoken agreement they moved away from personal topics and discussed some issues of command. This led Macet to tell an amusing story about reversing a Galor Class spaceship into a Napean space station, causing a serious diplomatic incident; Kira caped this by telling him about the time she accidentally dropped a delicate bomb into the sewage system of a small Cardassian Military base, causing every toilet in the building to explode simultaneously and catching the base Commander at a  _most_  inconvenient moment. Macet roared at that and she couldn't help laughing with him.

He stopped laughing first, fixing his disconcerting, light eyes on her face. His intentness stilled and quieted her. Suddenly she was wary; there was a tension about him that she wasn't used to. "What?"

He didn't answer her immediately, but sat turning a Moba fruit over and over in his hands, his eyes on her face, "Why did take so much responsibility for Ziyall?"

Kira shook her head, not because she didn't understand the question, but because she didn't understand why he was asking it. "Because she was innocent. She didn't deserve to be scorned by Cardassians  _or_  Bajorans, because of the accident of her birth."

"But it connected you to Dukat," he said reasonably. "That must have been very difficult when you hated him so much."

Kira shook her head again, "You don't understand, I hated what he did. There were times when I could,  _would_  have killed him to stop it. He made me so angry, no-one has ever made me angrier. Not just because of what he did, but because of the  _tiny_  moments when you could see what he  _could_  be. He gave up everything for Ziyall, he put her first, he actually cared about her mother. However appalling the relationship was when it started, however he might have deluded himself when he said she loved him, I believe he loved her, as much as he was able. I think that when he said he wanted the best for the Bajoran people he actually believed it.

She dragged in a deep breath, "He was deluded and arrogant and self absorbed. In those rare moments when he was at his best he thought he was at his worst, but he wasn't true evil, not until the end, not until after Ziyall died, I believe that, I really do." She realised that she was standing and that she'd been punctuating her words with jabbing fingers. Her hands dropped and she swayed a little, lost in confusion and for a fleeting second she wondered just how much wine she had drunk. She took an unsteady step around the table, choosing to enter Macet's space, something he had never done to her; he had always maintained a wary distance, always moving away rather than towards her, whenever he had the choice.

"Why aren't you like him?" She asked, like a child asking why the sky isn't green.

He didn't answer immediately, just stood up and looked down at her, his usually flat blue eyes tumultuous, "Because I am  _not_  him." He stepped backwards, putting distance between them again. "I must go Colonel; it's getting late. I'm sure the Ambassador will not mind if you show yourself out." Without a backward glance he turned and left.

Kira watched him go, jaw hanging. She took a few, hasty steps as if to follow him, span back and kicked over her chair. She huffed out a breath and glared at her tipped seat. What the hell was going on? What had she been  _doing_?

...


	2. Grasping the Nettle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a confusing evening the early hours of the morning have even more confusion and upset for Kira Nerys and Gul Macet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic, rated a cautions M for future chapters. Set after the end of the series. Spoilers for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd so any stuff ups are all mine.
> 
> Also, I've had to wedge a couple of days into the timeline of "This Grey Spirit" to accommodate a couple of characters that refused to jump into bed straight after dinner in chapter one. Recalcitrant swines.

Grasping the nettle

Kira had only been asleep for a couple of hours when Lieutenant Ro's urgent page woke her.

She'd left Ambassador Lang's quarters only minutes after Macet, first righting the chair she'd kicked over and loading the plates and leftovers into the replicator for recycling. She also threw the remaining bare eighth of the bottle of spring wine into the shimmering beam and watched as it pulled the attractive, pink bottle into its component atoms, sending them wherever it was that replicators sent things on re-cycle; spring wine didn't keep and the idea of drinking anymore was nauseating.

The walk back to her quarters confirmed her fears that she was a little drunk, more than she'd been in a long time; she didn't stagger, but she was fuzzy headed and every time she tried to make sense of her evening her thoughts jumbled up and she found herself upset and almost tearful without being clear why.

As soon as she walked through her door she ordered a big mug of iced, Kava leaf tea and two mild analgesic tablets from her replicator, downing them fast. Taking a second cup with her, she made a quick visit to her bathroom then collapsed into bed. Hugging the blankets to her chest, she considered getting back up and smashing some furniture but plummeted into sleep before she could decide where to start.

The page jerked her out of a troubled dream of Cardassian children with blue eyes falling into a sea of bronze-red, while she stood powerless on a pier, searching for ropes or nets to help them. She put her feet to the floor and gulped the dregs of her tea before tapping her com badge.

"Colonel!" Ro's anxious tone seemed to fill the whole room. "The exhibit's been vandalised."

"Exhibit?" for a moment Kira couldn't think what she meant, she pressed her fingers to her pounding temples.

"The Ziyal exhibit Colonel. Her art!"

A rock of cold, hard anger lodged in Kira's chest. "I'll be right there." She almost ran through the sonic shower, downed two more analgesics dry and threw on a uniform, taking barely three minutes to get out the door. When she reached the site of Garak's old shop her anger turned to such despair that she felt her knees sag. Someone had used acid, knives, water; it was an orgy of spiteful destruction. How could anyone have managed this without being seen or heard? The paintings had been such a wonderful gift from Cardassia, whatever their motive in giving them, and they had such personal weight for Kira as well. It was almost as if Ziyal had been murdered all over again.

"Skrăgh!"

Kira span around, looking for the source of the furious Cardassian expletive. It was Gul Macet, flanked by a pair of Cardassian soldiers, his face livid.

"What are you doing here Macet?" Kira barked.

"What do you think Colonel?" The Gul snarled back. "Who did this," his gesture encompassed the room, "this _abomination_?"

His fury acted like cold water, making her rage icy. "I don't know," she snapped. "We only discovered the destruction twenty minutes ago. How did you find out so quickly?"

"Some of my men were passing through the Promenade when your Security Chief," his eyes flickered to Ro, who had stopped directing the evidence collection and was watching their interactions with an alert interest, "ran through with a security team. They saw where she went and reported to me. I have to wonder why you didn't call me yourself as soon as you heard; the destruction of this gift is a clear act of aggression against Cardassia."

Kira bit back a heated reply. It was a reasonable explanation and Macet was right to look to the effect on the peace talks between Cardassia and Bajor. His men might have been at Quark's; the Promenade shops were long shut at three in the morning, but Quark's tended to stay open, if there were a reasonable number of paying customers, on the strict understanding that Station Operations would look the other way as long as nothing happened to make them turn around. The Cardassian contingent did spend time there, even if their Gul didn't.

"My Security Chief will want to take a statement from your men," she barely managed to inject some diplomatic civility into her tone.

Macet nodded brusquely, "Of course." He jerked is head in the direction of the two Cardassians standing behind him, "I have brought them with me."

Kira raised an eyebrow at Ro.

"T'Car," Ro said, over her shoulder. A Vulcan woman in Starfleet uniform stopped what she was doing and indicated she was listening. "Please take initial statements from these gentlemen, I will join you shortly."

"Of course Lieutenant." The woman gracefully indicated that the Cardassians should follow her. Both men looked to their Gul for approval before falling into step behind the Starfleet Officer.

"Lieutenant, how long before you can give me your initial report?" Kira asked Ro.

"I'd like at least an hour Colonel."

Kira nodded. "We'll only be in the way here Gul; you can go back to your ship," she considered for a moment, how much would Shakaar and Starfleet expect her to conciliate him? Shakaar not so much but Starfleet... "Or join me in my office while we wait."

"Your office if you please," Macet seemed to have found a civil tone as well, but the set of his jaw suggested that it was costing him. "I'd like to communicate with Ambassador Lang from there."

Kira gave him a terse nod and led off along the upper level of the promenade to the turbolifts.

...

Gul Macet made a brief report to the Ambassador and then sank into the chair on the other side of the desk. Kira noticed that his anger seemed to have left him, but the blue green tinge under his eyes, and spreading down over his cheekbones, indicated he was more than just a little tired.

He seemed barely conscious of her presence; he was frowning, leaning back in his chair, his eyes vaguely resting on the edge of her desk, his hands laced across his stomach; she noticed they were well shaped, strong looking with long, but sturdy fingers.

Now she had a chance to study him, she thought his facial ridges were more pronounced than his cousin's and his whiskers somehow altered the shape of his chin. Perhaps it was because she was tired herself, or there was still some spring wine circulating her system, or the numbing misery of the attack on Ziyal's art, but she wasn't having the usual reaction to his presence. She shook herself and stood up, orderd a Raktajino and asked him if he wanted anything. He responded with an absent shake of the head and she sat down again, cradling the hot cup in her hands and letting the aroma envelop her senses.

"Colonel?"

His voice made her jump. She blinked at him, had she been dozing? "I'm sorry, what did you say?" His eyes were on her face and she felt a flush creeping up her neck, Prophets help her, she'd been told that she sometimes snored when she slept sitting up.

"I wanted to apologise for walking out on you earlier, it was rude of me."

Kira shook her head, trying to clear the sluggish mists from her brain, "Don't apologise, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." She felt the flush gaining ground and sunk her chin into her collar to hide it.

Macet grunted, "I doubt I will ever be particularly comfortable around Bajorans. I didn't actually have much to do with them, your people, during the occupation."

"Well," Kira put her cup down, "I had a lot to do with Cardassians."

She saw his jaw tense; he looked as if there was a question he wanted to ask, but instead he grunted again and his eyes drifted back to the edge of the table. "Therein lays one of our greatest barriers to a lasting peace. What Bajoran didn't "have a lot to do" with Cardassians? I've read the reports and the eye witness accounts. When you have done that, what Cardassia is asking for, asking the Bajorans for, is ridiculous. What reason will the Bajorans ever have to trust us?" he sounded depressed.

Kira shook her head again. "Maybe none, but I truly believe that we have more to loose by clinging to our distrust." She paused, trying to find the right words. "If we don't help you, if we leave Cardassia to fall further into chaos, then sooner or later you'll be back, not asking for help, but taking." She nodded brusquely, "I could come to trust Ambassador Lang I think that says a lot coming from me."

"What about me?" he asked, his voice intent. He leaned in, elbows braced on his knees, "Do you trust me Colonel?"

She swallowed a gasp, he might as well throw both boiling and freezing water over her at the same time; she felt attacked. How could she answer that question diplomatically? Could she answer it at all? A bitter resentment rose up in her, this was the sort of thing Dukat would do. Just as you thought you knew where you stood with him he'd say something, do something to throw you off balance and she was so tired, physically tired and tired of politics and slippery diplomacy (she pushed away the little voice in her head that said "tired _and_ alone").

She resisted the urge to jump up, walk around the table and hit him, instead she swallowed and tried to speak in a normal tone. "What do you expect me to say?"

"I want you to answer the question honestly," he said, his voice rough. He stood, leaning on the edge of her desk, the faint "night time" illumination emphasising the ridges and shadows on his face, making it look like the a picture of a demon from an Terran book she'd once seen. "Do you trust me, or are you still so prejudiced by my face that that you can't look past it to my actions?"

After a frozen moment Kira banged her fist on the desk top, almost frightening herself. "What do you expect?" she snapped, jumping up. "An award for being in Bajoran territory for more than one week without trying to take over? This is politics; whether I trust you or not doesn't matter in the long run."

"Of course it matters," he bared his teeth and took a step towards her, around the desk. "If one of the most influential women of Bajor doesn't support us, -"

"Influential!" She squawked incredulously. "How am I influential? Have you looked at my ear lately, I -" She broke off in the middle of what she was going to say about her missing earring, about being attainted and banished from the temples. He was unexpectedly much closer, only a step away and his eyes were raking across her body and face and every inch of her skin started to throb.

"Yes," he growled, through clenched teeth, "I have looked at you."

"What?" said Kira softly. She half stumbled back and felt her legs make contact with the window, unbalancing her; she grasped at the frame with one hand and thrust out the other towards him.

Something in Macet seemed to break. He spun away, his hands clenched into fists and she could hear the harsh sound of his breathing. "I apologise Colonel. I have no excuse for my behaviour," he said roughly. "I will return to my ship. Please ask your Security Officer to send her report there."

"What?" said Kira again, she straightened herself. "No! You are not going to walk out on me again! What is this all about?"

"Surely with your wide experiences of Cardassians you know?" replied the Gul wearily, still not looking at her.

She shook her head, perplexed. Like lots of races, Cardassians were aggressive for all sorts of reasons, and between Cardassians there were subtleties, particularly with verbal aggression that other races rarely fully understood. She tried to put herself outside their last interaction, to see it as a watcher would see it. His aggression had seemed to come out of a blue sky, but then, she had been aggressive too, all over the question of trust, was that relevant? Two representatives of adversarial races face to face, tired, late at night, in stressful times losing their tempers a little, surely that was all it was?

His words "I have looked at you" suddenly jumped out at her. It sent her back, years before, not much more than fifteen years old and small and underdeveloped for her age thanks to patchy nutrition. She'd been hiding in the roof space above a Cardassian court room on Bajor, waiting to call her resistance cell to the attack, to release some Bajorans who were scheduled for execution on the court house steps, after a perfunctory group trial. Before the trial began the judge, a woman, had been alone with a male Glinn. Kira remembered that the woman's "teardrop", on her forehead, had been painted bright blue. They'd started by talking normally, then there'd been sarcasm and argument and then the woman had bitten the man on the neck ridge, just above the "collar" of his uniform.

The following minutes had been biologically instructive, if a bit disturbing, for a fifteen year old who was just getting to grips with Bajoran sexuality, never mind Cardassian. There'd been barely enough privacy to experiment on her own, never mind in company.

"Were you, -" she cast around for the least ridiculous phrase. "Were you expressing a sexual interest in me?" she said, making sure her tone was level.

She saw his shoulders tense. "As I said, I apologise. I appreciate how distasteful that must be. If it's any consolation it is distasteful to me too."

She blinked at the back of his head. "I'm sorry, you've lost me," she sank back into her chair. "You find me sexually attractive but it's distasteful to you. I really don't know what to think about that."

She saw his muscles tense even further. "It's not something I intended to discuss with you," his voice had almost returned to it's usual calm, even tones. "Isn't it obvious? A Cardassian imposing his desires on a Bajoran is hardly something to be proud of, considering our history."

"We don't have a history," she said flatly.

He turned to face her. "I don't understand."

"We don't have a history. I might have trouble with your face at times but that's not your fault, you've never done anything to me. In fact you barely have a history with the Bajorans at all. I know, I checked. And you didn't impose anything on me, you stopped when you realised I wasn't, well, _receptive_ ," she picked the word carefully.

He looked baffled. "I am not sure what to say."

She shrugged. "Chalk it up to a cultural misunderstanding and move on. Most Cardassians seemed to find Bajoran women attractive. I don't know why."

He pulled a face of disgust, whether at himself or Cardassians in general she didn't know but she had to laugh which seemed to break his tension somewhat. He sat down, one eye on her, his whole body radiating caution. It struck her again that he was definitely _not_ like most Cardassians. She wondered whether to drop the whole subject but she had the Bajoran habit of wanting everything firmly put to bed. "You haven't asked why I wasn't receptive," she kept her tone impersonal.

He shrugged, "I didn't wish to embarrass either of us further."

"Well, I'm not embarrassed." She tucked her chin down in her collar again in case the flush was still there. "I can't say that I'm actually involved as my lover is in the Gamma quadrant and may never return, but I'm monogamous as a rule and not ready to give up on that possibility yet."

"The Changling," Macet nodded.

"And," she made sure she was looking him squarely in the eye, "I don't find you physically attractive." She felt her eyes start to wander down to his hands and forced them not to. "I'll admit it's your resemblance to Dukat and the plain fact that you're Cardassian. I've never found any of them physically attractive."

"I appreciate your honesty," replied Macet dryly. Kira felt a ridiculous urge to giggle, Macet must have caught something in her expression because his mouth quirked up on one side and his eyes warmed, which she found disconcerting. 

She looked away, forcing herself to keep her breathing steady and her face impassive. "I'm sure you do. However, I want to be clear that I do not view all Cardassians in the same way; there have been some," her mind drifted to her pseudo "father" Tekeny Ghemor and of course Tora Ziyal, "that I have cared for very much."

"I see," his eyes caught hers again and she saw that the warmth was still there.

Her communicator chirruped making her jump. "Ro to Colonel Kira, I have an initial report for you on the vandalism."

"I'll, actually,  _we'll_ meet you in the Security Office, Kira out." She looked at Macet, whatever had been in his eyes had gone and they were flat and calm again. Her whole body unclenched. "I'm assuming that you want to hear this first hand?"

He nodded and rose heavily from the chair, passing a hand over his eyes. "When this mission is over I must get some sleep."

She took a gulp of her now cold Raktajino, "I've been saying that for years."


	3. All my eye and Peggy Martin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now knowing that Gul Macet is attracted to her Kira Nerys must find a way to work with him to try and solve the mystery of the vandalism of Tora Ziyal's art.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic, rated a cautions M for future chapters. Set after the end of the series. Spoilers for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd so any stuff ups are all mine.
> 
> Also, I've had to wedge a couple of days into the timeline of "This Grey Spirit" to accommodate a couple of characters that refused to jump into bed straight after dinner in chapter one. Recalcitrant swines.

All my eye and Peggy Martin

Gul Macet seemed lost in thought as they made the trip to the Security Office and Kira was glad enough to avoid further conversation. He was familiar with the route from Ops to the promenade and walked beside her, matching his pace with hers.

Kira used the time to push their disconcerting interaction to one side of her mind. If she needed to think about it again it was there, if not it would just sit in a metaphorical box labelled "Macet" and get dusty; there were far more important things to deal with.

They found Lieutenant Ro, the Station Security Chief, at her desk with two empty Raktajino mugs at her elbow. She half stood as they entered and indicated two chairs ready for them on the other side of the desk. Once they were sat she handed them each a pad and began her report.

"As you saw, the vandalism on Ziyal's work was fairly comprehensive; only a small number of works escaped entirely intact. The vandal, or vandals, used a variety of tools and substances including: a highly concentrated organic acid, a serrated blade and red paint. The acid we believe to be wood etching acid, commonly used by sculptors of the Tozhat Province on Bajor."

Gul Macet stirred and Kira half expected him to leap up and declare that he knew it; it was the Bajorans all along! It would have been so Cardassian, so Dukat, but he settled back into his seat as if he had just been looking for a comfortable position. The man constantly refused to play to the classic Gul script, it was actually annoying. Even more annoying, she realised, was that she was thinking about him rather than listening to what Ro was saying. She shoved these new thoughts in the direction of her "Macet" mental box and re-focused on her Security Chief. The Lieutenant, she noticed with approval, hadn't missed a beat, though her eyes had flickered to the Gul's face as she mentioned the acid; that quick glance caught Kira's attention, there was an air of innocence about Ro that Kira did not believe in. The Security Chief was up to something.

"The knife," Ro continued, "shed microscopic slivers of metal. It is a common carbon steel blend and we have been unable to determine the length or number of serrations conclusively, as it was used almost exclusively on canvas and paper. Finally, the paint is a type widely used for decorative metal surfaces; it was manufactured on Cardassia for domestic retail and exported before the Dominion war." Ro looked from her Commander to the Gul, waiting to see if they had any questions.

Kira nodded to herself, she was sure Ro had intentionally left the Cardassian source of the paint until last so that she could see Macet's reaction to the Bajoran acid. The test had failed in it's obvious intent; Gul Macet was either interested in the truth, (rather than placing the blame on the most politically expedient target), or smart enough to act like he was. Of course, the source of materials and tools might be no surprise to him if he'd ordered the vandalism himself. Kira expected her Chief of Security to look into the Gul's movements as much as anyone else's; Ro would be extremely derelict in her duty to take anyone's word at face value, even if they did seem genuinely helpful. However, Kira didn't expect her to find anything; Macet's behaviour had been uniformly consistent with his stated intentions. He'd been invaluable during the Europa Nova evacuation and the riot at Quark's a few days before. He'd persistently been reasonable, helpful and useful. There was something very solid about the man, not a sign of his cousin's erratic megalomania. She'd been right to cancel the surveillance she'd had on him.

Ro must have nudged one of her mugs with her elbow because there was a faint "chink" that broke Kira's train of thought and she realised she'd lost track of the conversation again. She cursed the spring wine she'd drunk; she had to rack her memory for the last time she had been this distracted and realised it was probably when Dukat had told her about his relationship with her mother.

Fortunately, it didn't seem that she'd missed much. Gul Macet was frowning at the pad in his hand, absently tapping the edge with one finger and Ro was looking at her screen as she talked.

"... As for other evidence, there is a strange energy signature in the room, some type of low level Baryon radiation with a very fast decay rate. But most puzzling," she continued, turning from her screen to look at them both, "The room was completely devoid of all DNA."

Both Kira and Macet lowered their pads in sync. "No DNA at all?" asked Kira, incredulously.

Ro nodded, "None."

"But, that's ridiculous! The workers setting up the exhibit," Kira waved a hand to encompass the sheer size of the problem, "not to mention the fact it was a shop before that. I can't imagine anyone would have cleaned it so thoroughly that there wasn't a scrap of DNA anywhere."

Macet looked as if inspiration had fallen on him from above, "It might not be that ridiculous."

Both Kira and Ro stared at him. "What do you mean?" Kira asked.

"There was a piece of Dominion Technology for covert operations. It used a modified form of Baryon radiation to destroy all DNA inside a force field bubble. It was quite a small unit; a bubble big enough to encompass the whole of Ziyal's exhibit would be stretching it's capabilities, but it would be possible." He waved a finger in an "abracadabra" gesture and looked pleased with himself.

Kira's fury was almost overwhelming. How could Macet, or rather the Cardassian delegation, fail to disclose such an important piece of technology? So much for his being solid, reliable and trustworthy. "I appreciate your honesty," she said through gritted teeth. "When was Cardassia planning to reveal this technology to Bajor, or to the Federation for that matter?"

Macet looked taken aback. "It was included in the summary of technological assets currently available to Cardassia that was sent to your government at the beginning of the negotiations. I know because I'd only heard rumours about it before; it stuck in my memory."

A hot ball of despair, and worse embarrassment, sunk its way into Kira's stomach. She'd only been allowed to see a brief summary of the documents provided by Cardassia listing their assets and this "bubble" technology hadn't been included in the summary. A piece of technology that created such a wide range of security issues and they hadn't trusted her, as the Commander of the most valuable piece of space hardware Bajor possessed, to know about it. Shakaar, politics and diplomacy had combined to push her into the cold again, thanks to Vedek Yevir's decision to see her attainted for releasing the Ohalu prophecies. She saw Macet's eyes move from her face to her hands and forced her fingers to release their death grip around her pad. His expression was understanding and she wondered savagely if he was reassessing her worth as an "influential person."

"You'd have to be outside the bubble when you set it off," interjected Ro, seemingly oblivious to the tension on the other side of her desk.

Macet turned his attention back to the Security Chief, "The design allowed for that. The user could open a window in the shield wherever they wished and the force field bubble could be configured for almost anything the operative might need, including sound suppression."

"Explaining," said Kira bitterly, "how they managed to do so much damage without being heard. Prophets damn them!" She slammed a fist on the security Chief's desk, not caring about the startled look that Ro tried to hide, not caring that it made her look less than professional in front of Macet. "What is your plan of action Chief?" she barked.

Ro's startled expression disappeared behind a professional veneer. "I've got my team checking the whereabouts of all Bajorans and Cardassians on station, prioritising those who have expressed negative feelings towards Bajor's talks with Cardassia and their associates. We're also reviewing the passenger manifests of all ships arriving and leaving in the last week and looking for any non Bajorans or Cardassians who might have reason to stop the talks. 12:00hrs is the last time someone was in the exhibit before the vandalism was discovered," Ro continued. "Three installers who all left together, two humans and a Bolian. I can't find any reason why they would lie." She looked over at the Gul, "I understand from your men that you've only just started letting them back on the Promenade for R and R since the riot at Quark's and then only those who weren't involved in the fighting. I would appreciate details of who entered and left your ship from 12:00hrs onwards; I or one of my people will need to talk to them. Now how," Ro concluded, "would someone get hold of one of these units you talk about?"

Macet frowned, "Rumour had it that the Dominion placed two units in the hands of the Cardassian Intelligence Bureau. If that's true, or what happened to them after the withdrawal of Dominion forces, I don't know, but they must still be available to be listed on our assets. I can try to find out." He turned slightly to look directly at Kira, "I would appreciate it if this was not widely known; it obviously focuses suspicion on Cardassia, or at least Cardassians and the negotiations are in such a delicate state already."

Kira nodded grimly, it would be the end of any hope of Cardassia securing Bajor's help if it was proved that Cardassians had sabotaged their own peace efforts. If what Second Minister Asarem had told her was true, Shakaar would jump at the chance to withdraw and she still believed that it would be wrong thing to do. "Chief," she addressed Ro, "I want you to keep this between us three unless absolutely necessary, even then I'd prefer you to clear it with me first."

The Lieutenant inclined her head, "Certainly Colonel."

"However," she met Macet's eyes, "if the evidence becomes conclusive that one of these units was used by Cardassians..." she left the statement hanging.

"Then I expect you to throw us to the Targs with a clear conscience." Macet nodded, his tone surprisingly cheerful.

Well," said Kira standing up, she nodded tersely at Ro, "If that's all you have for us."

"I have a couple of other issues I need to discuss with you Colonel," Ro said quickly, glancing at the Gul.

Gul Macet took the hint graciously and stood. "I must return to my ship and report to Ambassador Lang."

"Of course," said Kira, "I will keep you informed."

The Gul nodded once and left.

Kira let a breath go through her nose and turned impatiently to Ro, "What are these other issues Chief?"

Ro leaned back in her chair and looked up at Kira. Her posture made Kira's stomach flip over, how many times had she seen Odo looking up at someone like that? Quite often her, at ease in his own domain. Yet Ro didn't quite look at ease yet, her eyes had a definite wary look.

"Colonel, I need to ask you what is going on between you and Gul Macet."

The audacity of it nearly took Kira's breath away. "First, you had better demonstrate why it is any concern of yours."

"Gul Macet is part of the Diplomatic team currently attempting to establish a peace treaty with the Bajoran government; this in itself is a contentious issue and is contributing to the unease and unrest on the Station, including the riot a few days ago in Quark's." Ro counted this off as one point on her index finger. "A notable number of the rioters were Bajoran Militia, anything that may cause further unrest, especially in the troops we may have to rely on is of concern me," she counted this off as a second point. "And I have had three people, in the last hour, tell me that you had dinner with Gul Macet last night. Two were genuinely concerned, but prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt. The other is disgusted that you are still in charge of this station and called you a "Collaborator"," the Chief touched a third finger. "The man in question is an idiot, but if he's saying it out loud, then other people will be thinking it. Finally, there was a noticeable tension between you and the Gul during our meeting. More noticeable than usual that is," she qualified.

Kira dropped her pad on the desk. "You can tell, -" she stopped herself and took a deep breath; bellowing at Ro within sight and hearing of the Promenade, however early in the morning, would not bolster her image as base commander. Especially if her performance was already being questioned and even more so if her performance was being questioned by Ro herself. "You can tell," she continued in a more level tone, "anyone who asks, or doesn't for that matter, that there is nothing going on between me and Gul Macet. I was supposed to have a social dinner with Ambassador Lang, someone I have been slightly acquainted with for years, but she was detained and left Gul Macet to take her place. It wasn't what I would have chosen but walking out would have been rude."

Ro continued to look up at her. Kira was certain she could see a set of scales in her Security Chief's eyes; a question was being weighed, whether to ask it yes or no? Because it was one Kira wouldn't like. "Do you know that he is physically attracted to you?"

Even though she'd half expected it, Kira was still surprised. "Yes, because he just told me." She stared at Ro in irritation, "How do you know?"

Ro stared at one of her empty cups. "When I served aboard the Enterprise I was sent back to the Academy for Advanced Tactical Training. One of the base modules in the Psychological Operations component was "Non Verbal Communication." To pass the module you had to demonstrate a base level understanding of body language, expression and micro expression for twenty species and specialise in three; my specialities were Bajorans, Vulcans and Cardassians. The Gul's voice deepens and smoothes when he's talking to you, his facial and neck ridges darken slightly when he's been looking at you for a while and there's the excessive distancing; he's always very careful about your personal space, something Cardassian males do as a gesture of respect to "untouchable" females they are sexually interested in. It leaves up to the woman to decide if she ever wants to close the gap and take the social consequences." Ro raised her eyes from her cup, "I don't need to tell you how rigid Cardassian society is when it comes to class divisions, gender roles and social mores. A non Cardassian would automatically be untouchable in traditional, Cardassian terms. It's actually a compliment in a way, Gul Macet's respectfulness; as you know, Cardassians who found the Bajoran "untouchable" women desirable during the occupation weren't so circumspect. They didn't give a choice in the matter." She dropped her eyes again, "I thought you needed to know Colonel. Frankly, it didn't occur to me that he would tell you."

Kira felt a bitter taste develop on her tongue. "Untouchable", that was what Gul Macet thought of her? This was why he was so polite and respectful and everything that Dukat never really was. Macet thought she was beneath him in some way and so had Dukat. The only thing to be said for Macet was that he didn't play Dukat's games.

She pushed her anger down until it was a tight ball in her chest, and let another breath go through her nose. "It doesn't matter what he thinks either way. Nothing is going to happen." She made sure that her tone was level; Ro was right to give her Senior Officer a heads up, both about the dissent circulating the Bajoran crew and the possibly complicating attraction she'd noticed from the Gul towards Kira. If people were watching then she'd just have to keep out of the Gul's way as much as possible; it was that simple. For a moment she desperately wished that Dax, Sisko, O'Brien or even Julian were on the station; or Odo, she could tell him anything. But, it was better not to think about Odo at all. She considered contacting Kasidy Yates on Bajor but she didn't want to disturb her friends settling process in the house that she'd hoped to share with Captain Sisko, the father of her unborn child. There was simply no-one to talk to and she'd just have to manage on her own.

She became aware that Ro was still looking at her, with a faint air of concern. "Was that all Lieutenant?" she snapped.

Ro looked as though she had something else to say but shook her head.

"Good," said Kira, and left.


	4. Tears before bedtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira Nerys is badly in need of some peace and the support of her friend Kassidy Yates, but it seems that wherever she goes her troubles follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic, rated a cautions M for future chapters (Might be more of a T in the end). Set after the end of the series. Spoilers for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd so any stuff ups are all mine.
> 
> I've ended up weaving this story in and around the Mission Gamma relaunch novels (beginning with "This Grey Spirit") to accommodate a couple of characters that refused to jump into bed straight after dinner in chapter one. Recalcitrant swines.

**Tears before bedtime**

Kira Nerys walked away from the wreckage of the Tora Ziyal art exhibit feeling better than she had done in days, weeks, perhaps even months. She was still exhausted in every bone, sinew and corner of her mind, but she left the ruins of the gallery feeling  _hopeful_.

The despair of her early evening talk with First Minister Shakaar had not entirely left her; it had confirmed her worst fears for the Peace talks with Cardassia. Shakaar didn't want peace. He'd set up the talks to fail; his rationale a bitter, spiteful grab at revenge against the Cardassian people. Worse, somehow, were the things he had said about Ziyal. He'd attacked someone Kira had loved, knowing that he was hurting Kira with every word, and enjoyed it. She didn't know what had happened to the man she had grown up venerating, first as the leader of the Shakaar resistance cell she'd joined as a young teen, later the new First Minister of Bajor and later still, as her lover.

To feel so divided from someone with whom she had shared the most intimate parts of her life and thoughts, to look at a once beloved face and see a stranger looking out from their eyes, was shattering.

She'd gone to the exhibit hoping to find something, anything, to hold on to and had found the Second Minister of Bajor, Asareem Wadeen. She did not leave with any clear idea of how the Second Minister would act in the face of the First Minister's betrayal of Bajor's best interests, but she left knowing she had an ally in thought. She was no longer so alone.

She went to her quarters and to bed. She slept peacefully until just before her chronometer would have woken her but, for the second morning in a row, she was woken by a page from Lieutenant Ro, bearing bad news.

The suicide of a relative (of sorts, Kira didn't fully understand how Andorian families worked. They were very private about it) of a Federation Council Member was no light matter. Protocol required that Kira visit the scene, or at least the entrance of the scene as Andorian custom did not allow non Andorians to see or interfere with their dead, other than what was medically or legally necessary. Kira expressed her condolences to Council Member Charivretha zh'Thane and then withdrew, promising any and all aid that might be necessary. She was confident that Lieutenant Ro would do what was needed, ordering enough medical tests to ensure that Shathrissia zh'Cheen had indeed committed suicide,  _regardless_  of Andorian sensibilities or diplomatic protocol.

Kira went to her office to get on with the work of the day and to wait for her Security Chief's report on the death, after which, assuming Suicide was confirmed, she would certainly need to talk with Station Counsellor Matthais, who had been having sessions with the young Andorian woman prior to her death. Kira wasn't looking to blame Phillippa Matthais, but she did want to see if any lessons needed to be learned from the tragedy.

Once she had completed the first five things on her to do pile, for once without interruption, Kira stopped to get herself a Raktajino and called up the station calendar with her own schedule and that of her key staff overlaid. She had been promising Kassidy Yates, for weeks, that she would visit her on Bajor and she was going to have to accept that there was never going to be a good time to do it. It was up to her to find the best, or least worst, time there was.

Currently her Security Chief, Lieutenant Ro, and her team were investigating three major open cases. Firstly the riot on the Promenade, which had largely been Bajoran versus Cardassian, and was now a matter of assembling evidence for both sides, so that the military participants could receive appropriate disciplinary action and civilians could face whatever action was appropriate from civilian authorities. From her interim report, Ro had this well in hand and could delegate some of the work to the Starfleet Security team based on DS9. They had more resources and had the extra virtue of looking somewhat impartial.

The second matter was the vandalism of Ziyal's exhibit. All the main evidence from the crime scene had been collected and analysed; it was now a matter of sifting through transit reports and statements, while they waited for Gul Macet to investigate the possibility that Dominion technology had been used.

Finally, there was the alleged suicide.

Elsewhere on the station, preparations were ramping up for the formal acceptance of Bajor into the United Federation of Planets. It required supervising and co-ordinating, but Admiral Akaar seemed determined to take that out of Kira's hands. Plus, as the date approached, it would get worse rather than better.

Essentially, if she was going to go before Kassidy's baby was actually due, she needed to do it within the next few days. She waited for Lieutenant Ro's report to come in and, when the attached medical evidence confirmed suicide, contacted the central command of the Bajoran Militia with a request for six days leave out of the months she was owed, starting in two days time. That would give her enough time to get her "house" in as much order as possible and make those who needed to know aware, starting with Admiral Akaar. She dealt with that via the Admiral's aide. No doubt the Admiral would have an opinion on her leaving her post at this time, but Kira was past caring; nothing she did would ever fully please the man and it would only get worse once the Bajoran Militia was absorbed into Starfleet.

The second person it occurred to her to tell was Gul Macet; he would probably want to communicate with her at some point about the Ziyal investigation and she felt she owed him the courtesy of telling him personally where she would be.

She opened a comm. channel to Ops and asked to be patched through to his ship, the Trager.

"I'm sorry Colonel," replied the officer manning docking control and ship/station communications. "The Trager left Deep Space Nine early this morning. Ambassador Lang was recalled to Bajor I believe. I can hail them if you like?"

"Never mind," Kira closed the comm. line with a jab of her index finger and scowled at nothing in particular.

* * *

Some days later Kira was walking back towards Kassidy Yates's house after a late evening walk, cum run, precipitated by the sudden arrival of Vedek Yevir - the man responsible for Kira being excluded from her religion - on Kassidy's doorstep.

In one hand Kira clutched a water logged baseball that she'd tripped over. She'd fallen down, knocking the wind out of herself and skinning her knees. To her the ball was a talisman; the only person who hit baseballs on Bajor was the Emissary. It was probably two years old, but it was his, and she'd found it at a point when all the frustration and despair in her life had sent her barrelling out of Kassidy's door and into the gathering twilight.

She'd lost track of how far she'd gone, but even in the dark she recognised the path she was on from her daily walks with Kassidy. The Moon that had led her away from the house was now at her back, illuminating her way home. She kept a steady walking pace, one knee grumbling where she'd twisted it as she tripped over the baseball. It took her a good half an hour to get within sight of the house and she approached cautiously, wondering if Yevir was gone. She circled in the shadows of the trees to a point where she could see through the living room windows. Kassidy was reclining on a sofa, sipping something from a cup and smiling. Since Kira couldn't imagine even the courteous Captain Yates smiling at Vedek Yevir, she moved further around so that she could see the whole room. The person she saw standing there, looking at home and pouring tea, was only slightly less unwelcome that the Vedek.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kira charged though the veranda door on the heels of her words.

Kassidy slewed around and gave her friend a bemused look. "He came with a message for you and I invited him in."

"Really." Kira crossed her arms and tried to glare at Gul Macet who was hovering uncertainly on the other side of the room, holding a delicate tea cup in one hand and the matching tea pot in the other. He looked ridiculous and she had to choke down a laugh, which didn't do her dignity or temper any good at all. "Why didn't you just send a message, instead of turning up in the middle of the night?"

The Gul's eyes flickered to an old fashioned Bajoran timepiece on the wall and Kira felt a blush creeping up her neck; if he started arguing about what should be defined as "the middle of the night" there was no way she would hold her temper, or come out of the argument looking anything less than foolish. However, he seemed to think better of it and carefully placed the tea pot and cup on a table. "I apologise for the late hour," he said, without a flicker of sarcasm. "I didn't feel comfortable sending a subspace message and I have some information, some  _evidence,_  relating to the vandalism of Ziyal's art."

"Fine," said Kira, shortly. "What is it?"

Macet looked around the room. "Is there somewhere we could sit, at a table perhaps?" he said, with a faint trace of irritation.

"Why don't you use the dining room?" Kassidy started to struggle up, but before Kira could move to help Macet was there with a courteous hand under her elbow. "Thanks," Kassidy huffed. "When I get down it isn't so easy to get up." Once she had her feet under her she smoothed down her dress and smiled at them both. "I'm going to bed, but please stay as long as you need." She smiled at the Gul, "I'd offer you somewhere to sleep but Kira has the guest room. Though actually, you could use Jake's room, or perhaps the Sofa?"

Before Kira could protest Macet shook his head. "It's kind of you to think of me, but my shuttle is in orbit around Derna and I can't rely on the ionization in the atmosphere to hide it for long."

"Another time then." Kassidy smiled at both of them, "Don't stay up too long, I mean, it  _is_  the middle of the night."

Kira glared at her friend's retreating back; in the morning Kassidy would be made to suffer for teasing her friend, but there were other things to think about before then. She forced her attention back to Macet, who was watching her with a quizzical air.

"She seems very pleasant," he said uncertainly.

"Did you think she wouldn't be?" replied Kira.

Macet shrugged, "I hadn't thought about it at all."

"Why would you." Kira nodded in the direction of an internal door, "Come on, the dining room is this way."

Macet stopped on the threshold of the dining room and looked around appreciatively; Ben Sisko's addition to the original design for his house, an elegant room with ample space for a table that could sit twelve, allowed Kassidy to have a much smaller table in the living area for informal friends and family dining. "This is a very fine house; I envy the Emissary when he returns."

"If he returns," said Kira shortly. "Well," she nodded towards the pad in his hand, "let's see this evidence."

He hesitated, "You seem very angry Colonel, have I done something to offend you?"

"Offend me? No. You turn up, out of the blue, in the middle of my leave, disturbing a heavily pregnant woman, with plenty of her own problems, in the process and you expect me to welcome you with open arms? You sneak in here without the courtesy to go through official Bajoran channels; does anyone know you are here? And you expect me to show you a smiling face and give you tea and," she waved a hand to indicate the dining room, "Hasperat probably and a bed for the night. You who," she teetered on the brink of challenging him with what Ro had told her about her being "Untouchable" and therefore "beneath" him, but choked it back. It would simply re-open an area of conversation that was far better left alone, however insulting she had found it. "You didn't even have enough courtesy to tell me you were leaving the station did you?" she finished; only realising how lame it sounded once it was said.

Macet, who had stood unflinching - if bemused - under her barrage, dropped the pad he was carrying on the table. "When I've shown you what I've discovered about the vandalism of Ziyal's art, I hope you will understand _why_ I have come to you in the middle of your leave, in the middle of the night, even at the risk of disturbing a heavily pregnant woman. I  _did_  try to contact you when Ambassador Lang received an urgent recall to Cardassia, but someone in Ops informed me that you were attending a death aboard the station and I thought it would be better not to disturb you. You see, the recall gave me an excellent excuse to return to Cardassia and carry out my investigations." He gave her a thoughtful look, "If I'd known not saying goodbye would upset you so much I would have contacted you in transit," he finished, mildly.

Kira opened her mouth and found herself stuck with nothing to say. Macet had no reason to guess why she was angry with him. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "We've just had a visit from Vedek Yevir, the man responsible for my Attainder. I thought I'd got over him being here, then you arrived." 

"Invading your personal space and time," said Macet gently, reading at least part of what she had left unsaid with irritating accuracy.

She took a deep breath, "Never mind. Let me see the evidence." She dropped into a chair and waved him towards one on the other side of the table. She picked up the pad, reading the information that scrolled past at the touch of her finger. "Romulans," she said incredulously. "You're telling me that  _Romulans_  vandalised Ziyal's art work?"

"Not telling you," replied Macet, a touch defensively, "no. But it is a possibility. I've seen both of the Dominion "bubble" devices given to Cardassia. They're currently secured in separate locations and controlled by the military, under the direction of Alon Ghemor himself."

Kira frowned as her mind turned over this new information. She'd never met the leader of the current Cardassian government, Alon Ghemor, but she knew that his supporters included Ambassador Lang and Elim Garak. Kira thought the first of that pair was as good and honourable person as you would ever meet; however, in Kira's experience, good and honourable people wanted to see the same qualities in others and could be fooled. That trusting nature didn't make them less of a person; it was simply a disadvantage in the slippery world of politics. Garak though, if Garak supported Ghemor then it was because it suited his own ends, which could be self-interested, or entirely altruistic, or anything in between. Once upon a time Kira would have assumed self-interested every day and twice on the day of the gratitude festival, but he'd loved Ziyal and he'd done things, things that had no conceivable benefit for himself and that might well have saved Cardassia. She looked up at Macet without really focussing on him; Macet supported and believed in Ghemor; did she, Kira Nerys, believe in Macet? She supposed she did. He was an extra irritant in a quadrant full of irritants, but that was just down to their personal issues. He'd still been consistent and trustworthy in other matters.

"Alright," she sat up. "I'm accepting that the two "bubble" devices given to Cardassia could not have been used."

"Thank you Colonel," Macet nodded graciously.

Kira's eyes narrowed, she had a distinct impression she was being gently teased. " _However,_  your idea that the Dominion might have given one to the Romulans seems to be pure guess work."

"Not entirely, may I?" he held a hand out towards the pad. Kira placed it on the table and gave it a gentle push, so it slid into his reach. "I have the full text of the non-aggression pact signed between the Dominion and the Romulan Empire. The Romulans were determined to gain the upper hand and insisted on a wide range of technological exchanges. The clause was distinctly in their favour, they gave the Dominion nothing they did not already have. Of course, they radically underestimated the Dominion's expansionism. I doubt they would have kept their borders or their new technology for long." Macet pursed his lips, "A short-sighted effort on their part, all in all."

"As short sighted as letting the Dominion annexe the entire Cardassian Union?" asked Kira, with just a touch of bite in her tone.

"Yes Colonel," Macet seemed un-phased. "Both actions were short sighted and foolish in the extreme. Our only excuse was desperation, but of course, our desperation was our own fault." He gave her a bland smile, "Returning to the matter at hand," he held out the pad again. "Here you will find several shipping manifests detailing Dominion equipment shipped from Cardassia, during the early part of the Dominion Occupation, to Romulus. If you take the highlighted components from the manifests and compare them with the component list of the "bubble" device you will see that they match."

Kira frowned, "Not entirely, but the missing components would be easy to manufacture." She tapped a finger on the side of the pad, "There were other races that entered non-aggression pacts with the Dominion as well, why not one of them?"

"I cannot rule them out. However, based on everything I have discovered, the Dominion used Cardassia as their premier freight terminus during the war. I cannot find any record of those components being shipped to any other non-aggression pact world, including, incidentally, Bajor."

Kira held up a hand, "Fine, you've convinced me that the Romulans almost certainly had the means, which leaves motive and opportunity. Motive is easy. There are as many Romulan ships and personnel occupying what was Cardassian space as there are Federation, and their motives are nothing like as altruistic."

Macet nodded, "The Romulan Empire has a vested interest in keeping Cardassia weak. Wrecking Ziyal's exhibit, especially if the blame could be laid at either Cardassia or Bajor's door, would destabilise the peace talks."

"They weren't to know that the peace process was already stalling," Kira waved a finger in a "ta-dah" gesture. "Opportunity is the issue." She looked vaguely around the room, "I need to contact Lieutenant Ro. She needs to concentrate on Romulan travellers, or Vulcans," Kira added, bearing in mind the numerous times Romulans had managed to pass as Vulcan. "I don't think Kassidy's communications channel will be secure enough for this."

"If you would like to record a message I can take it to her; I'm returning to the Station tonight." He hesitated and continued somewhat diffidently, "I and the Trager will be remaining there for the foreseeable future. If there is any chance that we can re-open the talks, I have to pursue it."

Kira nodded, "Alright. If you'd like to make yourself comfortable in the sitting room, I'll be with you shortly."

It took her sometime to get the message right; it wasn't just a matter of relaying what Macet had told her, but instructing Ro to verify as much of the story as she could, including Macet's movements. Then she added a couple of layers of encryption, just difficult enough to stretch Cardassian decryption sub-routines and look convincing. She finished the message by hiding a sub-routine in the code of the blank spaces between the text that would record any attempt to decode it. Kira really didn't care if Macet read her instructions to her Security Chief to check his story, she expected him to expect it, but she did want to know if he would carry the message with or without reading it.

When she walked into the sitting room he was asleep, sat up in an arm chair, his head tilted and wedged against the wing of the chair back, his mouth hanging slightly open.

Kira stared at him, hands on hips, lost somewhere between sympathy and irritation. She'd fallen asleep in the same chair on her first night in the house. He looked exhausted; the blue green tinge prominent under his eyes and his facial skin looked almost saggy, as if he'd lost some weight quickly. She supposed all Cardassians were tightening their belts; she couldn't see Macet living off what little fat of the land was available when children were starving on his planet. He hadn't eaten much at their dinner, now she came to think about it.

She thought about leaving him there, there was a blanket on the sofa she could throw over him, but she decided against it. Any life form sleeping with their head at that angle would wake up with a crick in the neck, plus he'd said something about hiding his shuttle in orbit around one of Bajor's moons. Someone would find it eventually; she hated to think what her detractors would have to say about her entertaining a Gul in a private residence.

"Macet," she bent over and grasped his shoulder, shaking gently. "Wake up."

His hand moved so fast she simply did not see it coming and grasped her wrist; but his eyes were bleary with sleep when he looked up at her.

"Nerys?" he said softly.

Kira wrenched her wrist away. "Wake up Macet. You have to go."

He blinked a few times and struggled out of the chair, staggering slightly as he stood. "I apologise," he looked at her wrist. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," said Kira brusquely. "Don't worry about it." She took a deep breath and forced herself to use a more pleasant tone. "You were asleep, I surprised you." She nodded towards the door, "You'd better go."

"Yes," he nodded, but still looked confused, as if he was still half napping. "Do you have the message for Lieutenant Ro?"

She passed him the pad and he nodded in thanks and followed her to the door, which she held open. There was an awkward moment on the doorstep, where neither of them seemed to know what to say, but in the end he passed through and into the night with just an awkward bob of his head. She closed the door and locked it, pulling the heavy drape that covered the glass portion of the door to shut out the darkness.

She looked down at the faint pink bands on her wrist where his fingers had been and stood there, staring at the marks, until they faded away.


	5. Can't see the wood for the trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Gul Macet leaves Kassidy Yates' house Kassidy gets Kira to talk. Once Kira is back to business on DS9, everything seems simple, for about five minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic, rated a cautions M for future chapters (Might be more of a T in the end). Set after the end of the series. Spoilers for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd (I re-read, edit and fiddle over and over) so any stuff ups are all mine.
> 
> I've ended up weaving this story in and around the Mission Gamma relaunch novels (beginning with "This Grey Spirit" and now moving into "Cathedral") to accommodate a couple of characters that refused to jump into bed straight after dinner in chapter one. Recalcitrant swines.

**Can't see the wood for the trees**

Kira Nerys stumbled blearily from the guest room in her friend Kassidy Yates' house and made a beeline for the replicator and a Raktajino extra hot, extra sweet.

Her friend, the homeowner, emerged from her bedroom as Kira took her first sip. She let the steam scald her tip of her nose while she watched Kassidy approach, carrying a cup and the aroma of ginger tea along with her.

"Morning," said Kassidy. She looked like she had been up for a while, though she was still in pyjamas. "I'm guessing Gul Macet didn't stay the night."

"No," said Kira shortly and took another sip of her drink, not meeting Kassidy's eyes.

"Okay," replied Kassidy, with one eyebrow up. "Shame. I quite liked him, though that face does take some getting used to."

Kira compressed her lips and put her cup down. "He's married."

"So?" both Kassidy's eyebrows went up. "So am I," she said carefully. "I can still like people you know."

Kira scowled, "I never said you couldn't!"

"Then what  _are_  you saying?" Kassidy's voice had lost it's usual soft tone. "Is there a reason  _why_  I shouldn't like him?"

"He's - ," Kira faltered. "Oh nothing. He's a model new Cardassian in every way." She started picking at the corner of a mat on the kitchen counter.

Kassidy set her cup on the work surface. "Nerys, you're here for a break. Since Ben's been gone I've watched you take on every burden that anyone has cared to offer you; you've seen everyone you've been close to over the last few years either leave Deep Space Nine for good, or disappear on long term missions. _Then_  some bastard took your religion from you. I want you here so I can support  _you_ , not the other way around. Every time I see you relax the weight of two quadrants falls straight back onto your shoulders. You are  _not_  super Bajoran. Ben never managed all that you manage on his own, without friends and loved ones to support him." Captain Yates squared her shoulders, "It looks like I'm the best you've got right now. So talk to me, or I swear I'll get one of Ben's baseball bats and knock some sense into you."

Kira looked at her friend, standing there in her rumpled pyjamas, with her big, pregnant belly, mad bed hair and puffy feet, so determined to stand up for her and help her fight her battles. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Kassidy seemed to realise that her friend was stuck and waddled over the Sofa. "Come on and sit with me, you can rest your head on my belly and my kid will kick you in the ear."

Kira managed a misty smile; she nodded and joined her friend on the Sofa.

* * *

In the end, Kira talked for a long time. First about being without Odo, about the uncertainty of their future and if they had one at all; then about all the people who had gone from her daily life. Haltingly at first because it meant talking about missing Ben Sisko with his wife, who had every right and reason to miss him more.

She talked about missing Jadzia too, because Ezri was different and that still hurt sometimes, then about watching Worf grieve and how she hoped he would find some happiness on the Klingon Home world.

She talked about the O'Briens going to Earth and how especially hard it had been to say goodbye to Kirayoshi, the child she had carried for his mother when an accident had threatened her pregnancy.

As she talked she felt lighter, as if all the words had been solid masses weighing her down. So she carried on talking, touching on Admiral Akaar and his arrogance and learning to trust and rely on Ro. She talked about Ro and Quark and not even wanting to  _think_  about what was going on with them, which made Kassidy laugh.

Near the end, she talked about Shakaar and how he had changed towards her and how much it hurt.

Finally, she talked about Ziyal and the vandalism of her art and very nearly cried.

Every so often Kassidy's baby would poke at her with a toe, or elbow and she'd watch Kassidy's belly rise and fall in random places as the little one rolled over or stretched. It was a very peaceful place to be and after a while she fell silent and started drifting, not dozing as such, just floating along on the quiet.

"Nerys," said Kassidy softly, "you haven't said anything about Gul Macet."

That woke Kira and she sat bolt upright. "Because there's  _nothing_  to say."

Kassidy rolled her eyes. "The baseball bat Nerys."

Kira huffed, "Fine. He's, he's  _interested_  in me."

"Well I did think that might be it," Kassidy nodded.

"How?" Kira frowned at her friend in consternation. "How is everyone seeing this when I don't- I mean didn't."

"I don't know," Kassidy shrugged. "I guess it was mostly the way you were around him. Is he bothering you?"

"Yes, well- no. It's not that," Kira puffed out her cheeks. "He hasn't touched me, except accidentally a couple of times." She jabbed a finger in the air like she was scoring a point, "he did slap me on the back once, when I was choking."

"The swine, if he comes here again I'll shoot him," Kassidy deadpanned. "So  _what_  is it then? Does he keep asking you out, or is he forcing himself into your company, getting in your way, or embarrassing you?"

Kira thought about it, chewing her bottom lip, "No." She looked up at her friend, baffled. "Which is one of the things that feels so- so  _strange._  His cousin, Dukat, did all of that, every chance he got. Macet has just been  _around_ , but only when he needed to be. He was right to come here last night," she admitted, grudgingly. "It wasn't the sort of information he could risk sending through normal channels."

"So," said Kassidy, shifting herself into a more comfortable position, "he's told you that he's interested, but he's behaving like a "gentleman" for want of a better word?"

"Essentially, yes," said Kira uncomfortably.

"So why are you so mad at him?"

"Because," Kira huffed out a big puff of air, "because he thinks I'm beneath him."

"WHAT!" Kassidy gaped. "Did  _he_  say that?"

"No! It's a Cardassian traditional thing." Kira threw her hands in the air, "I'm not Cardassian so I'm automatically "untouchable" which translates to being beneath him. He's being polite and restrained around me, not because it's the way he is, but because Cardassian tradition says he should be careful of my reputation. He probably thinks he's being noble," she finished bitterly.

"Hang on," Kassidy frowned. "You've told me what Dukat was like around you, this doesn't make sense."

"Oh yes it does," replied Kira, grimly. "When Dukat was in control of the station during the war he treated me like a woman from the old days he wanted to seduce. He pretended to respect my position, partly to keep Weyoun off his back, but did everything he could to undermine it. He loved to throw me off balance; one moment a gift and a dinner invitation, the next a subtle threat. It was only when he was out of power there, or when he was almost banished from Cardassia that I got any true respect. I think for a while, as an outcast, he may have seen me as an equal. Macet has at least respected me from the first."

Kassidy shook her head in amazement. "Wow, I never really got to know any Cardassians that well so this is all new to me." She thought for a moment, "So, the point is, he finds you attractive, isn't bothering you with it, even if it is for a stupid reason. The bit I don't get is why you care?"

Kira blinked at her, "I don't care!" she said, hotly.

"Nerys," Kassidy took her hand in a gentle grasp, "no one as angry as you can say that they don't care. I think you need to figure out why. Now," she let her friends hand go, "this baby's been dancing on my bladder for the last half and hour; I have somewhere to be."

* * *

They didn't talk much for the rest of the morning. When Kassidy looked at her friend she could almost hear the gears turning in her head and her eyes held a faraway and sometimes sad look. After breakfast and a shower, they packed a light picnic, mostly from the replicator, but with some fresh Moba as desert and took a walk down to the river. Kassidy stuck to business as they walked; should they go left, or right? Was Kira hungry or thirsty yet? Finally, they made it to their favourite spot on the river bank, a sandy beach surrounded by rocks and shaded by a huge, gnarled tree that had drooping, dangling fronds. Kassidy loved it; it reminded her of a weeping willow from Earth. They ate in companionable silence while Kassidy bathed her swollen feet in the cold water and watched shoals of tiny golden brown fish swim by.

Just as Kassidy was thinking about going home Kira sighed. "Odo and I didn't talk about the future," she paused, drawing swirls in the sand with one finger tip.

"What do you mean?" asked Kassidy gently. She pulled her feet out of the water and tucked them under her dress, scrunching her toes.

"We didn't," Kira waved a vague hand, "talk about me waiting for him, or how long I should wait for him. We got close to the subject a couple of times but we always backed off. Those last few days with him were so  _precious_."

"I understand that." Ben's face swam into Kassidy's mind, but she pushed him away, it wasn't the time. "Do you think Odo would mind if you didn't wait?"

"No, I don't think so, he's so,  _reasonable,_ " said Kira, frustrated. "I didn't know at the time, but it used to bother him when I was with someone else. But since we've been together, since he's known that I love him -" Kira frowned. "I don't think my being sexually with someone else would worry him that much; it was wonderful for me, but for him, it wasn't the important part of our relationship. It's not like I could actually  _link_  with him. It's just -" she erased her swirls and started again, "I'm not explaining this well."

"It was important to him, because it was important to you; Because it made you happy?" hazarded Kassidy, trying to understand.

"I think so, yes," Kira nodded. "He loved the physical contact, the closeness." She laughed suddenly, her face lighting up. "He gave the most  _amazing_  back massages; it made him so happy to do anything that gave me pleasure." The glow left her as quickly as it had come. "He linked with more than one changeling while we were together; it's so different from what we know as solids. I tried to understand, but it was difficult."

"It must have felt like he was being unfaithful," said Kassidy, thoughtfully.

Kira drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. "A little, I tried not to see it that way and I honestly don't think it occurred to him. I can't help wondering if he would see me being physically with someone else in the same way as he sees his linking with another Changeling. Then I wonder if I'm thinking that because," she paused and rubbed her chin on her knees as if she was trying to avoid what she wanted to say next, "because I'm feeling lonely," she finished. She tilted her head to one side so that she could look straight at her friend. "I'm not even sure that I could get involved with someone else, the "who" matters as much as anything. Being with Odo was important to me because it was him." Kira smiled at Kassidy, "During the occupation it was foolish to get attached to one person, people in the resistance rarely did. If you were lucky enough to find someone you enjoyed yourself and moved on. Since the occupation finished I've not been so casual about these things, it seemed like there was finally  _time_ ; Jadzia used to laugh at me and say how I missed out on so much fun," she pulled face.

"Jadzia wasn't so casual in the end," Kassidy shrugged. "I've gone both ways; I had two long term relationships before Ben and a few bouts of "too much chemistry, too much wine, c'mon fella, let's have a good time." She smiled good-naturedly as her friend fell about laughing. She waited until Kira had choked to a stop and wiped her eyes before continuing, "What I'm saying is there's nothing wrong with either. Right place, right time, right person. If you're sure Odo wouldn't mind, even if he would Nerys," she said, with a touch of asperity "He can't expect you to wait forever on the slim chance he might come back."

"I know." Kira started picking up little pebbles and throwing them into the river.

"So," Kassidy adjusted her skirts, "who can I fix you up with? There is an  _adorable_  wood carver in the village."

Kira flicked a tiny pebble at her friend, which landed in her lap. "No thank you, I still need to think about this a bit more."

"Don't think about it for too long; opportunity has a habit of passing us by."

"What opportunity?" Kira frowned.

"Gul Macet," said Kassidy simply, but with a wicked twinkle in her eye.

Kira gasped, "Kass! The idea's ridiculous! He's married! Even though he doesn't have anything to do with his wife that still means  _something._  He's Cardassian, he could be his cousin's twin  ** _and_**  he thinks I'm beneath him!"

"Okay, the wife situation isn't ideal, but it's practically impossible for a high-level Cardassian to get a divorce, that's one of the few things I do know about them. As for being Cardassian and looking like his cousin, he can't help either of those things and neither of them actually tells you a damn thing about who he really is. Come on Nerys, Bajoran's aren't all the same even when they're related. What matters is what you think about him, the  _actual_  him. Do you find him attractive?"

Kira opened her mouth to say a very definite no and then stopped herself. She met her friend's kindly, smiling eyes and felt herself blushing faintly. "I've never considered a Cardassian in that light before. I don't know, he seems like a decent person, except for the "untouchable" nonsense and he does have nice hands," she finished uncertainly.

"Hands are important," Kassidy nodded, sagely.

Kira flicked another pebble at her friend. "I keep telling you it doesn't matter what I think,  _he_  thinks I'm beneath him."

"So get on top," said Kass wickedly. "Show him he's wrong."

* * *

The rest of Kira's stay on Bajor was wonderful. Kassidy didn't raise the subject of Kira's romantic life again and having finally admitted her burdens, Kira found that they were featherweight in comparison with when she'd arrived.

They were unbothered by visitors, but they did walk down to the nearest village to do some shopping. There were two woodcarvers with shops on the main street and Kira did find herself looking, just to see who Kassidy might have had in mind.

The time to leave came too soon; Kira hugged her friend and promised to visit again as soon as she could. She walked back into the village, took a transport to the nearest city with a shuttle port and soon found herself back in space, heading towards the station.

She'd sent a message ahead with her estimated time of arrival, telling them not to send anyone to meet her off the shuttle as she was arriving well into the night watches and the courtesy was just a waste of manpower. As a result, she made it to her quarters unhindered and checked her messages to see if there was anything that needed her immediate attention, as there wasn't she sent a message to Ops confirming that she was home and that she would resume duty, barring any emergencies, in the morning. She went to bed and enjoyed an untroubled sleep.

It was ironic that the first person to catch her with a problem in the morning was Gul Macet, wanting to talk about the stalled Bajoran/Cardassian peace talks. It surprised Kira a little that she could talk to him, even smile at him without the undercurrent of anger that had categorised most of their previous interactions. It proved in Kira's mind that she had absolutely been right to take some time off. It was even easy to deal with his frustration and anger when she made it clear that she believed the talks were stalled until after Bajor joined the Federation.

She stopped him as he turned on his heel to go, having said some bitter words about Bajor's attitude. "As I said, I  _agree_  with you, but my influence at present," she shrugged, "isn't as strong as I know you would like to believe. But I'm not giving up either."

His expression softened somewhat. "I know Colonel, I apologise for projecting my anger at you."

Kira held up a hand, "It doesn't matter. I need to check in with my staff and deal with anything urgent, but I'd like us to meet with Lieutenant Ro as soon as possible; I'm not giving up on the Ziyal investigation either and we have things to look into."

A ghost of a smile flickered across his features, "Of course Colonel. You know where to find me." He raised a hand in a casual farewell, turned and walked away, down the Promenade towards the Replimat.

Kira absently watched his retreating back disappear into the crowds, wondering vaguely how much of his shoulders were shoulders and not uniform. Suddenly, she realised that she hadn't had breakfast and considered extending her holiday mood by getting something at the Replimat rather than at her desk. If Gul Macet was there she'd even have someone to talk to. In her new, relaxed frame of mind, she didn't see why she should avoid him; his issues were his own problem. She checked and saw that she was half an hour ahead of the time she'd said she would be in her office and it decided her. She'd go and get some French toast, an earth dish Julian Bashir had introduced her to and which she'd regarded as a treat ever since.

It took her only a minute or two to reach the Replimat. Thankfully, before she'd entered the seating area the milling crowd separated and revealed Gul Macet, sat with two of his officers who had meals in front of them. That on its own made joining Macet for breakfast untenable, what made the idea preposterous in the extreme was Treir, the Orion woman from Quarks, who had her arms draped around Gul Macet's neck and shoulders, whispering something into his ear before slithering around into his lap with a girlish giggle.

Kira did not miss Gul Macet's smile, or the way his arm grasped the Orion's waist. She turned on her heel and made straight for the turbolifts, not registering the crash and the scream that followed her.


	6. The Prophet's honest truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira's annoyed and overworked, so nothing new there, but at least one thing wasn't quite what it seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic, rated a cautions M for future chapters (Might be more of a T in the end). Set after the end of the series. Spoilers for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd (I re-read, edit and fiddle over and over) so any stuff ups are all mine.
> 
> I've ended up weaving this story in and around the Mission Gamma relaunch novels (beginning with "This Grey Spirit" and now moving into "Cathedral") to accommodate a couple of characters that refused to jump into bed straight after dinner in chapter one. Recalcitrant swines.

**The Prophet's honest truth**

Unsurprisingly there was a huge quantity of work awaiting Kira when she arrived in her office. She threw herself at the piles of pads, completely forgetting her intention to have breakfast, but managing to block out the image of Trier's barely covered breasts pressed against Macet's chest plate and worse, the syrupy smile on his face.

The work got steadily easier as she picked up the threads of station life and staff came and went as the morning progressed. Her first scheduled appointments were not until the afternoon; Lieutenant Ro wanted to see her at 13:00hrs and Admiral Akaar at 15:00, no doubt to pepper her with questions about the preparations for the signing of Bajor into the Federation. Kira found it darkly amusing that he'd regularly refused to include her in decisions when she'd been aboard the Station, yet while she was away he'd sent memo after memo asking for her input.

She was plodding through yet another of his wordy epistles when her chronometer binged to warn her of the approaching meeting with Ro. In counterpoint, her stomach growled and she realised she was in serious danger of missing lunch as well as breakfast. She couldn't postpone her meeting with Lieutenant Ro; a lot of Akaar's questions had security implications, so she sent a message suggesting that they had a working lunch in Ro's office.

When she reached the Security Office she saw immediately that her message had got through; Ro had a half eaten portion of Hasperat in front of her and a plate of food sat ready in front of the only other seat, evidently waiting for Kira.

"I hope you don't mind me ordering for you Colonel," Ro nodded at the plate. "Odo had the replicator in here set for a limited selection of drinks and snacks and I never got round to ask for a re-programming. I checked the replicators at the Replimat for your favourite choices; you haven't had this one in a few weeks."

Kira sat down, loaded a fork and took a big bite. It was Vulcan Kreila bread topped with a spicy ratatouille of Bajoran and Vulcan vegetables and crumbs of blue veined cheese, flavoured with Klingon Gladst. It was a recipe whose programmer was lost in the midst of time - probably murdered by a trio of Vulcan, Bajoran and Klingon chefs - but Jadzia had introduced her to it and it was filling and comforting at the same time. "No, this is good," she said, between bites.

"I'm sorry, I'm not quite ready for our meeting." Ro was tapping frantically at a pad, "I just need to get an initial report filed on last night's excitement." She tried to hide a yawn behind one hand.

"Excitement?" Kira laid down her fork, "What excitement?"

Ro tapped her pad a couple more times and then set it down with a relieved sigh, "In Quarks, last night, a Ferengi, a Bolian and a Vulcan walked into the bar, and -"

"Is this the start to a joke?" Kira interrupted.

"I wish," said Ro and stifled another yawn. "Then I wouldn't have been up most of the night. They came off an independent freighter. You know the kind, high crew turnover, poor flight reporting, suspicious gaps in their trading history."

Kira nodded, "All too well, The Dominion War chased them away, but I'm not surprised they're coming back."

"Well, I've been keeping an eye on this one. Anyway, these three turned up in Quarks last night. The Ferengi and the Bolian started to play Dabo, the Ferengi lost and accused Trier of cheating and suggested that she should pay him back in oo-mox," Ro rolled her eyes. "Trier tried to flirt her way out of it, but the Ferengi wasn't having that and then his friend the Bolian stepped in and started getting belligerent with Trier. It was at this point that Frool tripped the silent alarm."

"Where was Quark?"

"Doing something in the holodecks apparently. While everyone's attention was on Trier and the Bolian, the Ferengi started stealing Latinum from the Dabo table. Hetik, the Bajoran Dabo boy, saw him and tried to grab his hand; the Ferengi shoved Hetik, who fell backwards over a Dabo stool. He knocked over two tables, quite a few drinks and sent Ensign Marley's birthday cake flying," Ro described an arc in the air with one hand. "Strawberries and whipped cream everywhere. We're lucky it didn't start another riot."

Kira nodded, "Why didn't it?"

"Just as punches were about to fly, the Ferengi drew a disruptor. He and his friend were backing out of the door when Gul Macet walked up behind them, cool as you please, and banged their heads together. Knocked them out cold. Everybody stood there with their mouths hanging open, trying to decide whether to start hitting each other, when, just in time, Quark appeared like a Pah-Wraith from a candle flame and shouted "drinks on the house"."

"I'd liked to have seen that," Kira's lips started to twitch.

"I'm sorry I missed it too." Ro started to grin, "Apparently Hetik cornered Macet at the bar, dragged his hand in the air and shouted "my hero." Then he got all the bar patrons to carry Macet around on their shoulders, that's when I arrived. I've never seen a Cardassian look so embarrassed." She choked and slapped a hand over her mouth before collapsing in infections giggles, Kira couldn't help but join in.

"Please tell me you have some security footage," wailed Kira.

"I'll send it to you. Oh my sides," Ro rubbed her ribs. "Anyway, the Ferengi and the Bolian are in detention awaiting transport to a Magistrates court on Bajor. The odd thing is the Vulcan; no-one knows where he went. He didn't return to his ship and we haven't found him on the station yet."

Kira tapped her fingers on Ro's desk, looking thoughtful. "I assume you got my message about Gul Macet's evidence on the vandalism."

"Yes," Ro nodded. "It has occurred to me that a missing Vulcan could just as easily be a missing Romulan under cover, but nothing's happened. No vandalism, no crime without an obvious suspect at all. I'm still sweeping the station, but there are a lot of places he could hide with one of those Dominion force field bubble devices; according to Macet's specifications they can include cloaking technology."

"And if the Romulans have got one it will. What did our two Dabo masters say?" Kira nodded in the direction of detention.

Ro rolled her eyes, "They don't know his name and they don't know where he went. All they know is that he was a cargo hauler on their ship who kept himself to himself. Apparently their Captain, a Tellarite called Colv, paid them all off yesterday before leaving dock ostensibly for Coridan III. He isn't answering long range hails."

Kira hissed through her teeth in frustration, "Keep looking. I've got a bad feeling about this, especially so close to Bajor's official entry into the Federation. Maybe he's lying low somewhere, waiting for the ceremony. You'd better brief Admiral Akaar."

Ro nodded, "I've copied him on the relevant parts of my initial report. I've had to tell him about the forcefield "bubble" device, I don't think he's pleased."

Kira shrugged, "He never is, we might as well give him a good reason." She nodded at Ro, pleased with her performance, "Have you made any other progress on the information Gul Macet gave you?"

"I've verified most of it as far as I can; he went where he said he did, him or his double," Ro said, with weak humour. "He didn't read your message by the way, the sub-routine hadn't been activated." She gave Kira a very direct look, "He's obviously determined to prove he can be trusted."

Kira met her eyes impassively, "He's earned the benefit of the doubt in most cases." She grinned, "Especially as the hero of Quarks. I must replicate him a medal."

Lieutenant Ro smiled back, "Anything to cheer him up would be good; Dr Tarses says he's a very bad patient."

Kira felt a sensation like time missing a beat, "What?"

Ro was looking at her with her eyebrows up, "Didn't you know?"

Kira shook her head, keeping her expression carefully neutral. "I've been in my office all morning, but I saw him on the Promenade, about 08:00hrs, he looked fine."

"He was taken ill just after that. The pair of Cardassians he had with him said that Trier was thanking him for his heroics the night before; you know what she's like, cooing in his ear and sitting on his lap," Ro pulled a face. "Apparently he went a funny colour, pushed her off, jumped up and keeled over. Trier tried to catch him and ended up on her backside with a man in  _her_  lap for a change."

"Is he back on his ship?" asked Kira, still keeping her voice level.

Ro shook her head, "No, Dr Tarses took one look at what their ship's Medic tried to do and the med kit she was trying to do it with and insisted that we transport Macet to our infirmary. Not her fault, she's all they have aboard and he told me she'd had less medical training than a first year Starfleet cadet.

Kira nodded absently, "I'm not surprised; they're probably short of supplies, and people." She stared at the wall for a moment. "We can't do any more about the vandalism without him, other than keep looking for this "Vulcan". We'd better work through all the points Admiral Akaar raised about the security for the signing."

Ro handed her a second pad, "The Admiral was kind enough to copy me on all the memos he sent you. Here's my security plan; I've cross referenced each point in his memos."

Kira scanned through the first few paragraphs of the report, "Are you sure he copied you on everything?"

"Yes," Ro nodded. "I used my security over-ride to check the comm. traffic. The memos I received and their time stamps tally with your messages from the Admiral."

Kira was impressed again, "Really good work Lieutenant, not exactly following protocol, but good. I will just mention that if you  _ever_  read any of my secure correspondence, I will court-martial you and then throw you out an airlock," she grinned.

"Noted Colonel," the Security Chief smiled. "So, if you have anything you want to do before your meeting with Admiral Akaar, -"

Kira gave her Security Chief her best poker face, "I'm sure I can find something. Thank you again Lieutenant."

* * *

Leaving Lieutenant Ro's office Kira walked calmly to the Infirmary. She knew that Ro was probably watching, but refused to be coy about it; she was visiting a VIP who had fallen ill, nothing more.

She found Dr Tarses in the open plan treatment suite, surrounded by empty biobeds. Kira knew, having spent some time in them herself, that there were four or five smaller rooms with one or two biobeds that could be used as high dependency wards, or that could give privacy to longer term patients.

"Hello Colonel, can I help you?"

Kira smiled at Simon Tarses, "Yes, I understand Gul Macet is here; I wanted to make a courtesy call if he's well enough."

The Doctor nodded, "Of course, he's through here." The Doctor guided her to one of the doors to the smaller wards, "Perhaps you could reason with him," he said earnestly. "He wants to leave the Infirmary and of course I can't force him to stay, but I don't think it's wise."

Kira shrugged, "I'll talk to him Doctor, but I doubt I'll have any influence."

"As you say Colonel," Dr Tarses nodded gravely and indicated that she should go right in.

Kira went through the door with the distinct impression that some level of gossip had reached Infirmary about her and Macet. It was irritating and she was glad now that she hadn't joined him for breakfast, whatever the reason, but Protocol did strongly suggest that a high level representative of a planet's government should expect a bit of extra courtesy.

As she stepped over the threshold a wave of heat and humidity hit her and she understood why Dr Tarses had chosen to keep Macet in a separate room, the atmosphere was quite uncomfortable.

It was also dark; she peered through the gloom and spotted Gul Macet, sitting on the edge of his biobed, with his back to her, struggling to pull his undershirt over his head. His position allowed her to satisfy her curiosity regarding his shoulders, his uniform could barely be adding any breadth to them at all and their span exaggerated his ridiculously slender waist. She noticed the almost iridescent sheen to the scales that ran parallel to the central, ridged, cartilage that protected his spine. Further patches decorated his hips, partially hidden by his trousers. She wondered if his body scales always looked like that, or whether the damp atmosphere caused them to gleam.

He didn't turn or acknowledge her presence; Cardassian hearing was slightly weaker than most humanoids and she realised that the sound of her arrival was probably muffled further by his struggles with his clothing. She cleared her throat loudly.

He slewed round and nearly fell of the Biobed, his balance impaired by having his arms tangled in his shirt. "Colonel!" he started coughing deeply.

"I'm sorry Macet," she waved a hand at the door behind her. "Dr Tarses told me to come in. What's this I hear about you leaving? He doesn't seem to think it's a good idea."

"Dr Tarses hasn't considered the havoc my absence will reap on a ship now almost entirely commanded by callow youths." He grimaced, "I had to send some of my best people back to Cardassia after the riot and what they gave me in return may be worth having _if_ a few years of war thins them out." The more he talked, the raspier his voice got until he started coughing again. Once the fit had passed, he resumed his struggles with his shirt.

She watched him thrash about for a few moments - fully understanding his stubbornness - but soon he started to cough again and then to wheeze. She saw his shoulders sag in defeat as he sat there, his arms still caught in his sleeves, looking like a marionette waiting for the puppeteer to arrive.

"Oh, for Prophet's sake," she took a few, hasty steps around the Bio-bed and grasped the neck of his shirt. "Sit still and let me do it."

He seemed too short of breath to argue; she gently guided his head through the neck hole and helped him push his arms into the sleeves, struggling a little herself because the fabric was damp from the high humidity. Finally, she pulled the hem down, trying not to think about how close they were and how the heat and humidity was making her her skin prickle. Once the shirt was on she stepped back. "Now, what's your diagnosis?"

He picked up an inhaler from the trolley beside the bed and inhaled twice, looking faintly embarrassed. "I have a lung infection," he managed to say, his breathing already considerably improved by whatever he had taken. "Something Cardassians are prone to. I will be fine; the good Doctor can replicate me all the medication I need and I have promised to rest for a few hours once I am back aboard my ship."

"Has he mentioned the underlying, chronic, inflammatory disease of the lungs that he hasn't been treating properly for months?" asked Dr Tarses, entering the room. "I am telling you this Colonel because as the Commander of this Station I am obliged to report to you if any inhabitant or visitors health makes them a health or security risk." He looked at Macet, "I'm afraid this overrides your right to confidentiality sir."

"I do not see how my condition presents a risk to anyone but myself!" Macet sounded almost normal again; if Kira hadn't seen his struggles with his shirt she would have believed that Dr Tarses was being ridiculous.

"You spoke of your crew being left to their own devices, what if their Captain collapses and dies from a treatable disease on this station? Do you think these callow youths will restrain themselves? I treated many of the combatants from the riot at Quarks sir; I would prefer not to do so again."

Gul Macet simply glared at him and crossed his arms.

Dr Tarses turned his attention back to Kira. "This current, acute, attack can be attributed to the cumulative effect of poor diet, inadequate rest, a long period of living in an unhealthy environment, poor medication and to top it all a very late night, a considerable quantity of Kanar and some form of acute stressor this morning. When I reached him he was almost in respiratory arrest. Frankly, the only reason he has been walking and talking normally is because he has been overdosing on the one medication he has." The Doctor picked up the inhaler from the Gul's bedside and waved it under Kira's nose.

The Gul made a grab for the inhaler, "The dose I am taking is well within the safe limits; my increased usage has been authorised by my Doctor on Cardassia."

"Then I would like to speak to this "Doctor"," said Tarses with some asperity, "and give him a piece of my mind. You are becoming immune to this medication, hence you have to take more and more and shortly the side effects will out way the benefits."

Kira laid a light hand on the Doctor's arm, "Never mind Doctor, he's under your care now."

"I have managed my condition perfectly well up to now," insisted Macet, stubbornly. "I'm sure my illness this morning has another cause, perhaps it was something I ate."

Dr Tarses practically rolled his eyes, "Far more likely some form of stressor," he said, flatly. "Did something occur to rapidly elevate your heart rate and respiration this morning?"

Macet clamped his Jaw shut; his eyes flickered to Kira's face and then away again. "Not that I recall."

"Are you certain? Perhaps a shock, or some unusual excitement?"

The Gul shook his head, still not looking at Kira.

"What's the treatment Doctor?" asked Kira lightly, trying not to be pleased at the Gul's embarrassment; an elevated heart rate had almost certainly been part of the Gul's morning with Trier in his lap.

"He needs absolute bed rest for 24 hours to allow the medication I have given him to take effect, then he can return to  _light_  duty, full duty in five days if he takes  _all_  of his medication and follows my guidance on diet and rest."

"Ridiculous," Gul Macet snapped. "A maximum of eight hours bed rest in my own cabin aboard the Trager."

"If you return to the Trager I cannot be held responsible for the consequences!" Dr Tarses said, becoming increasingly frustrated with his difficult patient; he turned back to the Colonel. "Did you know that the Crew of the Trager have been living on an inadequate daily quantity of out of date emergency field rations for weeks? Their replicators are down and they do not have the parts to repair them. In addition, their environment controls are only working at a basic level. Their ship is far too cold and dry to maintain a healthy environment for Cardassians long term and as I'm sure you know, the station's environment is barely better for them."

Kira remembered Garak having a melt down some years before, Dr Julian Bashir had told her about it, something about the station being always too cold and too bright. She'd never given much thought to Cardassian comfort, but during the occupation they'd always kept it dark and hot, she'd assumed to make things more unpleasant for the Bajoran workers. She remembered Ziyal talking about some kind of Cardassian sauna and what a relief it was. "Is this true?" she asked Macet, who was still not looking at her.

He shrugged and she noticed his breathing start to speed up, suggesting he was in the grip of some strong emotion, "Cardassia is on it's  _knees_  Colonel. We are lucky to have what we have." He gave Dr Tarses a fulminating look, "I would like to know how you know all this," he rasped.

"Your "Medic" told me," snapped the Doctor, the inverted commas around the title quite audible. "The poor woman was as distressed as I've ever seen a Cardassian be. If you want her to perform as a Medic send her here for some training, don't just give her an out of date medical field manual and a box of ripped up shirts."

Macet opened his mouth as if to say something then froze, his skin became even more ashy than usual and the rhythmic beep that represented his heartbeat started racing. Kira realised that she could hear his lungs rattle and pop with every, shallow, rapid breath.

"Excuse me Colonel." Dr Tarses gently moved her out of the way so that he could get to Macet's bedside and she went to stand by the door, out from under his feet. The Doctor gently impelled his patient to lie down; it seemed Macet had run out of defiance, because he went without further protest, his chest heaving. Dr Tarses checked the Bio-bed readings and fitted a breathing mask over his patient's face. "This will deliver a balanced mix of gases to your lungs with a slightly higher oxygen saturation." He picked up a hypospray and pressed it to the Gul's neck, "You will feel better shortly. But, I must tell you that if try to leave the Infirmary in the next 24 hours you risk pulmonary collapse."

Gul Macet shook his head, but looked resigned, almost depressed. Kira stepped forward again as the beep of his heart monitor started to slow. "Let's see what can be done." She tapped her comm. badge "Kira to Commander Fujiwara," she coughed from suddenly inhaling the moist atmosphere.

"Fujiwara here," came the prompt reply.

"Commander, I've discovered that the Cardassian ship the Trager is in difficulties, they could use some engineering assistance. It might be a good opportunity to warm up those new engineering replicators of yours."

"I've never had the chance to work on a Cardassian ship Colonel, I'd appreciate the opportunity."

"Okay, I'll get approval from the Captain and get back to you." She closed the comm. channel and raised an eyebrow at Macet, "I doubt there's anything on board we haven't seen Macet. I can't order Bajoran engineers to help you, with the way things stand, but this Federation Engineering team is on the way to Betazed. They're stuck here because their transport got held up; you could have them for at least two days. They can fix your replicators so that you can help yourselves and they can help get your environment controls functioning again." She turned to the Doctor, "If they can get their atmospherics and temperature right can he can go back to his ship?"

"Certainly, but I'd like him to remain under my care until I'm sure he's over the worst."

Kira raised an eyebrow at Macet again, "So, that's the deal Macet. I'll get you the engineering help you need but you have to listen to the Doctor."

She thought he might be grinding his teeth, but he nodded and pulled the mask slightly away from his mouth, "Thank you," he rasped, a bit grudgingly.

"You sound better all ready," she grinned at him. "No need to thank me, you owe me a favour, that's always useful." That made him smile weakly. "Who's your most reliable remaining Officer? I'll get him here, so you can give him your orders."

He pulled his face mask away again, "Glinn Gamiel, my Chief Engineer."

"Couldn't be more perfect. I'll get him here as soon as possible."

She nodded at them both and was about to leave but Macet reached out his hand as if to pull her back. Without thinking she took it and held it in both of hers, "Don't worry, just get better," she said gently. A noise behind her made her look around; a Bajoran nurse had entered the room with a tray of medication. At first Kira couldn't fathom the reason for her shocked, almost appalled, expression, then she realised the woman was looking at their joined hands.

Before she could let go, or even decide if she was going to, Macet pulled his hand away; with difficulty he rolled on his side and turned his back to them all.

* * *

Kira left the Infirmary confused and upset; the nurse's expression had made it clear that every friendly gesture she made to Macet was going to cause more problems at a time when it felt like her whole race disapproved of her. Macet's turning away from her made it worse. Was he upset because he'd touched the untouchable? It seemed appallingly ungrateful. She shook herself, she had limited time to get to the Trager and find the Glinn before her meeting with Admiral Akaar.

"Colonel!"

Kira froze in her tracks, this was really the last person she wanted to see at that moment. She squared her shoulders, tried not to ball her hands into fists and turned, "Trier, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if Akellan was up to a visit yet?"

Kira noted the use of Macet's first name and had to  _work_  at relaxing her fingers, "You'd better check with Doctor Tarses."

Trier pouted, "I've tried that, he just keeps saying "the patient mustn't be excited"." A trace of satisfaction flickered across the Orion woman's face, "At least  _he_  thinks I'm exciting."

"Who?" asked Kira, confused.

"Dr Tarses," Trier looked thoughtful. "Not like Akellan, he's something isn't he? I was trying to thank him properly this morning," Trier's stance and expression changed slightly; suddenly she was not just a tall, attractive, green skinned woman, but a glowing goddess of sensual promise. Over her shoulder, Kira noticed a man looking at Trier rather than where he was going, right up to the point when he walked into a cart of Bajoran charms. It seemed that Trier only had to _think_ of being seductive to transfix any man in her vicinity. Kira supposed she couldn't blame Macet for being drawn in.

"Anyway," Trier continued, frowning, "he's a challenge. For all the interest he's shown in me I could be a Vulcan Monk." She pouted again, "When I sat in his lap this morning, he smiled at me like I was a little girl and tried to lift me off!" She put her hands on her hips, " _And_ , when I wouldn't go, he frowned at me like an old grandfather!"

Something in Kira's Pagh started to hum a happy tune and she didn't want to analyse it, or deny it, or push it away, or worry about what it meant for the future, or what it meant for her and Odo, all that could be dealt with later.

"Then," continued Trier, "he looked dead ahead as if he'd seen a ghost, jumped up, dumped me on the floor, went a funny colour and passed out on top of me wheezing. It was  _not_  what I had in mind. What do you think that was all about?"

Kira thought she knew, and her Pagh  _sang_.


	7. Be careful what you (don't) wish for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira tries to make sense of her feelings after talking to Trier and then finds herself in the middle of a criminal investigation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic, rated a cautions M for mild to moderate sexual activity, violence, and language. This chapter has a corpse in it.
> 
> Set after the end of the series. Spoilers galore for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd (I re-read, edit and fiddle over and over) so any stuff ups are all mine.
> 
> I've ended up weaving this story in and around the Mission Gamma relaunch novels (beginning with "This Grey Spirit" and now moving into "Cathedral") to accommodate a couple of characters that refused to jump into bed straight after dinner in chapter one. Recalcitrant swines.

Be careful what you (don't) wish for.

The excitement and workload surrounding the signing of Bajor into the United Federation of Planets rose steadily over the next 24 hours; even if Kira had wanted to visit Macet in the infirmary she wouldn't have had the time.

She didn't want to visit him; the first, floating, euphoria of her conversation with Trier had worn off in minutes and all the reasons against she and Macet going any further than professional co-operation pulled her down like a malfunctioning gravity plate.

The first reason was, of course, Odo, because she loved him. To give up on that love, especially for what might be a random and perverse fancy born out of loneliness, seemed ridiculous. Try as she might, she couldn't currently contemplate starting even a casual relationship, without even talking to Odo first.

Number two was that she genuinely wasn't sure what she wanted. After her conversation with Trier, the Orion Dabo girl from Quarks, Kira had accepted that Macet was under her skin, but she couldn't fathom _why_. She had tried, over breakfast, to do him justice. He was much quieter, thoughtful and less arrogant than the average Cardassian, while still having the more appealing Cardassian qualities of loyalty and tenacity. It was particularly hard to think about why she was beginning to find him physically attractive. Cardassian's were so tied up in her head with the occupation and its atrocities, admitting she found one desirable, even to herself, was a huge mountain to climb. In the end she decided it was his shoulders and hands; broad shoulders and strong hands were attractive to her, it had to be that simple.

The third reason was that she had no idea what  _he_  wanted. He'd been clear about finding her attractive, he didn't appear to be interested in anyone else, yet as soon as she'd shown some level of care towards him he'd withdrawn from her. It left her with only one conclusion, despite seeming atypical for a Cardassian, Gul Macet was determined to follow tradition. Kira was not Cardassian, therefore Kira was "Untouchable."

Bringing up the rear was a cacophony of concerns to do with her career, her religion (even if its leaders had betrayed her), her future as a Bajoran, what her friends would think and what other people would think. None of these worries would have stopped her pursuing Macet, or anyone else, if she was sure it was the right thing to do, they just existed as static to the larger concerns.

After breakfast, she received a short report from Dr Tarses stating that the environmental controls aboard the Trager were now fully functional and that he had released Gul Macet to his own quarters, where he was ordered to rest for a further eight hours. This report was accompanied by a brief note addressed privately to Kira that said "I expect the Gul to leave his quarters and resume duty the moment my back is turned. I have therefore kept him in the Infirmary a few hours longer than was strictly necessary to compensate." Kira had to smile at that; an impatience with medical caution was something that she and Macet clearly shared.

From that point onwards, whenever Macet popped into her thoughts she resolutely pushed him away.

* * *

Towards dinner time Kira was walking along the Promenade in the direction of the Replimat, with the intention of picking up something she could eat and drink on the move, when Security Chief Ro caught up with her.

"Colonel, I've been running a variety of automated sensor sweeps as we discussed, the last one detected Baryon radiation."

That stopped Kira in her tracks, "The radiation that the Force Field Bubble device uses to destroy DNA?"

"Yes." Ro nodded, "I've got a security team meeting me at the Turbolifts for Upper Pylon 1. The readings are coming from a maintenance tunnel junction, three levels under the control gondola."

"Pylon 1 has been kept clear for diplomatic arrivals and departures, there shouldn't be any activity at all," Kira said, more to herself than Ro. She pointed in the direction of the Turbolifts, "Lead the way. Have you asked for a Doctor to join us?"

Ro nodded as they started jogging, "Yes, I was wondering if the "Vulcan" might have tripped his device too early."

"Exactly." Kira gripped the handrail of the Turbolift, which rose rapidly at Ro's command. Within seconds they were at the base of Upper Pylon 1, in a large open space that had once housed one of the ore refineries, but was now used for staging large passenger or cargo embarkations and arrivals. They found a mixed Security team of Bajoran Militia and Starfleet waiting for them, all sporting armoured vests and Dr Girani, standing in the middle, looking a little nervous.

"Squad alert," said Ro, snapping the squad's attention to her as she pulled on her own vest, holding one out to the Colonel once her arms were free. "We have evidence of an intruder in Upper Pylon 1. There are two ways to approach their last known location, which is here," Ro approached a big screen in the wall and called up a schematic of the section in question, "from above, or below, but we have to assume the intruder is mobile." She tapped some commands on the panel, "I'm sending the schematic to your tri-corders now." There was a chorus of soft chirrups and everyone present checked their tri-corders to make sure they had received the information correctly.

Ro turned and looked around the squad, capturing their eyes. "Team 1, Quintana and Kala," Ro nodded to one Starfleet and one Bajoran Militia, "I want you to take the cargo transporters and beam to the Upper Docking Pylon Port, combat ready. Team 2: Pral, T'Car and Jensar, you will sweep internal corridors; Team 3: Haalen, Ngata and Sirco you take the external corridors; Team 4 will comprise of myself, Dr Girani, Colonel Kira, Alenis and Ruperts, we'll be taking the maintenance shaft. On every level my team will send a wide angle, light intensity, stun beam up the shaft. This should disorientate the intruder, but not knock him out so he falls on our heads. It  _should_  drive him into the corridors; so, stay alert and keep your comm. lines open. We move up a level when we are  _all_ ready to move together and we don't stop until we find the intruder, or when we reach Quintana and Kala at the Upper Docking Pylon Port."

Ro looked around the squad again, checking their focus, "We believe the intruder is passing as a Vulcan and has technology that masks their life signs. However, you should still use your tri-corders, look especially for concentrations of Baryon radiation. Make sure you stay within visual contact of your team.  _Any_  person found in the Pylon should be secured; if necessary stun them and I'll deal with the fallout later. Any questions?"

The whole team shook their heads and Ro nodded, satisfied. "Move out." She turned to Kira, Alenis and Ruperts, "I'll take point. Alenis, you're in the middle with the Colonel. Rupert's, you and the Doctor take the rear. Let's go."

If Kira hadn't been focused on the task ahead she would have admired Ro's deployment and been amused by her determination to keep her Commanding Officer safely sandwiched between herself and the broad bulk of six foot seven Sven Ruperts. They trotted in formation to the nondescript metal panel that served as access to the Maintenance shaft. Ro nodded Alenis forward, who tapped in a code to open the panel and ducked her head in and out quickly for a first look.

"Shaft appears clear Lieutenant," she reported to Ro.

Ro nodded, she tapped the settings on her Phaser Rifle and took a stance, ready to enter the shaft. "All teams report, are you in position?"

"Team 1, aye." They listened as all the teams acknowledged they were ready.

"Team 4, firing, level 1, on my mark." Ro adjusted her grip on her riffle, "Mark."

The Lieutenant took one smooth step into the shaft, raising her riffle as she did so, and sending a wide angled stun beam, straight up. Nothing happened.

"All teams report, any activity?"

One after the other, the teams reported in the negative.

Ro slung her rifle over her shoulder and put her foot on the first rung of the ladder. Kira, coming up behind her, looked up into the shaft that curved away above her, mentally preparing herself for a lengthy climb.

"Ruperts, you cover us from here until we are established on level 2," said Ro, without looking at him.

"Aye Lieutenant."

"All teams," said Ro. "Prepare to move to level 2 on my mark. Mark."

Together they began the long climb upwards.

* * *

Thanks to the curve of the Pylon, the climb eventually became more of a crawl, giving Kira's calf muscles a welcome break. However, it was hot. Kira found herself constantly wiping sweat from her eyes and hair off her face; she was hugely grateful when Alenis dug in a pocket of her vest and passed her the twin of her own stretchy, absorbent headband.

Progress was slow; Ro co-ordinated each step so that they moved in unison with the other teams. Finally, more than an hour after they set off, they were in sight of the junction where the Baryon radiation had been detected.

It was a large, rectangular, space with the Maintenance Shaft running through its middle. Based on the blueprints they'd examined earlier, Kira thought it would be similar in size to the Wardroom, allowing more than adequate space for someone to hide out, especially if they could disguise their life signs.

They'd passed two, similar, but much smaller, junctions already. Ro had used hand signals to deploy Ruperts and Alenis, so that they sent a stun beam to the left and right, as Ro sent one up the shaft. Kira was left to protect their rear and Dr Girani.

Ro's hand signals indicated that they were going to do the same again. Kira swung herself to the side of the ladder, as did Dr. Girani, allowing the huge - but light-footed -Ruperts to pass them by. Once the danger of trampled fingers had passed, Kira swung back so she had both feet on the ladder, hooked one arm around a rung and pointed her rifle downwards, the way they had come.

She heard Ro softly say "Mark," and the sound of three stun blasts, followed by a busy silence.

"Colonel," Ruperts' head appeared above her. "The Lieutenant requests that you and the Doctor join us."

Kira indicated that Dr. Girani should go first and followed, still keeping her eyes on the shaft below them, until she climbed over the edge and into the Junction.

"Oh Prophets," The Doctor's mild exclamation caused Kira to follow the direction of her fixed stare.

Lying on the floor was the partial body of a Vulcan or Romulan; he was quite certainly dead. The corpse consisted of a head, one shoulder, one arm and a section of the torso. The body had been sliced through in a very neat curve - so far as Kira could tell - but the wound was not cauterised, leaving the remaining internal organs and a lot of green blood to spread across the floor.

"Lieutenant Ro to Security, I want a team beamed to the nearest, suitable point beneath my location. They will be securing a crime scene and must have at least one forensic specialist with them." After agreeing a few more details with the Officer on duty in the Security Office, Ro closed the comm. link and looked around for Colonel Kira. "I intend to proceed with our sweep to the top of the Pylon as intended."

"Why?" asked Dr Girani, baffled. "Isn't he what you were looking for?" she pointed at the corpse.

"Most likely," said Ro, her expression making it clear that she wasn't prepared to explain any further just yet.

"Carry on," ordered Kira. Ro had undoubtedly reached the same conclusion that she had; whatever the Vulcan's, or more likely Romulan's, intentions had been, he'd hardly planned and executed his own murder. His face was contorted in a mixture of fear and rage, and his outstretched fingers were hooked, as if he died with a grip on something. Most importantly, there was no sign of the Force Field Bubble device.

Kira came closer and looked at the neat, curving cut through the corpse's rib cage, as if he'd been sliced by a curved blade. It painted a clear picture in her mind; part of his body had been caught inside the dome of the force field when it closed. It explained why there was no sign of the rest of the body; Baryon radiation would destroy anything organic, right down to the DNA. Unless the Romulan had managed to hide the Force Field Bubble Device while missing one arm, both legs and the breath of life, someone must have taken it.

* * *

Kira remained in charge of the crime scene, and the second security team, until Ro reported that the sweep of the Upper Pylon was complete. It took twenty minutes for both the Forensic technician, and Dr. Girani, to be satisfied that any loose evidence from the corpse had been secured, and then the remains were transported to the autopsy suite in the Infirmary. Kira remained while the Forensic specialist started his sweep of the empty room. She watched with interest as he set up grid projectors that illuminated the floor in criss-cross lines, creating a sensor grid that highlighted different forms of evidence, in varying colours for easy retrieval. There didn't seem to be much there, other than the now luminous swirls, puddles and splatters of congealing blood.

While she waited for Ro to return, she made a brief report to Admiral Akaar, gritting her teeth at his obvious impatience to have the full details, which she was not prepared to give over an open comm. line.

Finally, with Ro back at the scene, she took the Turbolifts down to the Promenade, jumped the small, kindly disposed, late night queue at the Replimat for a Bajoran pastry and a container of water and jogged, via the Turbolifts, to her office to meet Admiral Akaar.

The Admiral, looking as if he had just risen from ten hours good sleep and a hearty breakfast, turned from staring out the window and glared at her. "I do not appreciate being kept waiting this long Colonel."

Kira drew in a long breath through her nose and tried counting to ten, something Julian Bashir had once suggested when she was loosing her temper. It didn't seem to help; she was hot, sweaty, the pastry had barely taken the edge of her hunger, nor the water off her dehydration headache.

She swung the chair on the door side oftheroom out of  _her_  way, leaned on the edge of  _her_  desk and fixed the pompous Capellan with an icy stare. "And  _I_  am tired of your  _arrogant_  assumption that I  _give_  a damn about what you do, or do not  _appreciate_. I was doing my job.  _When_ Bajor joins the Federation, you can petition to have me fired." She cast her hands into the air and gave him a wide, false smile. "I'm sure there are  _plenty_  in the Bajoran government who would be delighted to oblige you.  _Until_ then," she gave the words bite, "either work with me, or get out of my way."

The Admiral went the colour of parchment, except for two, hectic, red spots on the highest points of his cheek bones; for a moment she thought his head would implode. "I'm sure I could arrange for you to be "redeployed", even before Bajor joins the Federation Colonel."

"Then do it," said Kira, quite calmly. "But do it somewhere else, I'm busy and I need  _my_  desk."

The Admiral looked down, as if only just realising that he was standing in what was essentially Kira's spot. Stiffly and un-graciously, he moved out of the way.

"Thank you," Kira walked to her chair and pointedly dropped into it. "Now, if you want to go and complain about me, there's the door," she waved at it. "Or, if you want a report, sit down," she indicated the vacant chair that had come to rest against the far wall. She picked up one of the pads on her desk and started making entries.

For a few moments the Admiral stood there with his hands clasped behind his back and his jaw working. Kira ignored him, not sure what she wanted most, for him to climb down off his altitudes and listen, or to have another go at intimidating her, so they could have a ding dong shouting match. Finally, he grabbed the back of the offered chair, dragged it back to where it had come from and sat. "I would be grateful Colonel, if you would give me a report on the fatality you have just attended and its possible implications for the signing of Bajor into the Federation," he said stiffly.

Kira finished the entry she was making, put down the pad, leaned back and laced her fingers across her stomach. "As you know," she said, her eyes on the door, just to the left of the Admiral's ear, "from Lieutenant Ro's report, we have some reason to believe that this Vulcan, or Romulan, hid himself aboard the station with a Dominion Force Field Bubble Device. Lieutenant Ro has been conducting constant sensor sweeps looking for Vulcan, or Romulan, life signs, or substances and energy signatures that are associated with this device. Approximately," Kira checked her chronometer, "five hours ago, the Lieutenant identified a Baryon radiation signature in Upper Pylon 1. As you know, Upper Pylon 1 is closed except for diplomatic traffic. Moving level by level, we swept the Pylon, discovering the body four levels below the Gondola. The sweep is now complete and there is, as yet, no sign of any further intruder, or the Force Field Bubble device. However, we have Forensics at the scene and Dr Girani is conducting an autopsy."

The Admiral looked as though he was chewing Kira's report and not caring for the taste, "What do you plan to do next?"

"Firstly, in agreement with my Security Chief, I plan to drastically increase security in Upper Pylon 1. We normally have a four man team in each Pylon, but we've increased this to eight and we will increase it again before any arrivals or departures. In the case of the First Minister and his retinue I plan to swap the Pylon used for docking at the last minute. This will only be known to you, me and Ro until absolutely necessary. "

Akaar nodded in grudging agreement. "What about the rest of the Station?"

"I want to sweep the other Pylons in the same way as we just did with Pylon 1. If you can spare us some men I'd be grateful," Kira gave him a smile with some genuine warmth in it.

"Certainly," the Admiral nodded again. "What then?"

"Station larger security details in all the Pylons; undertake further sweeps of the central portions of the station. If we don't find the other intruder within 26 hours well, perhaps we should change the venue of the signing." Kira scowled at the thought.

"That would cause a great deal of problems. Not an auspicious start for Bajor's membership," said Akaar, tartly.

"A lot more auspicious than an assassination, or a terrorist bombing. We have no idea at present what was planned; all we know is that their first thought was to destroy Tora Ziyal's art to try, we assume, to derail the talks between the Bajorans and the Cardassians, something that the Romulans would certainly welcome. But, if that was their only motivation, I don't understand why they've come back. The Cardassian and Bajoran peace talks are in abeyance until after the signing. The dead Romulan may have fallen out with a co-conspirator, or someone completely unrelated to him or his agenda, may have stumbled on him and the device. Either way, there may be someone on this station with the means to hide their life signs, commit a crime and scrub the area of all evidence."

"It must be something bigger," mused the Admiral, pursing his lips. He raised his eyes to her face, "Please send me a copy of your report and your action plan, I must communicate with the Federation Council and Starfleet security."

"By all means," agreed Kira, cordially.

* * *

Sometime after Admiral Akaar left, Lieutenant Ro checked in via comm. link to say that all the evidence had been collected from the primary scene and had been secured and guarded for inspection in the morning. A few minutes later, Dr. Girani contacted her to say that she had finished the external examination and overnight the specially calibrated autopsy bio bed would conduct automated scans down to the cellular level.

Sometime later still, Kira was working through some reports when she realised that there was someone sitting in the chair on the other side of her desk.

"I'm sorry Macet, I didn't hear...," the words congealed on her tongue. This was not Macet.

"Nerys," the apparition said silkily, "You wound me, am I and my  _plodding_  cousin so alike?" Dukat indicated his face and his body with a wave of his hand and smirked at her.

She pushed her chair back, "I'm dreaming."

"Is that what this is?" Dukat looked around the room. "It seems  _very_  real to me." He leaned forward and smiled toothily, "Perhaps it isn't a dream, I've transported onto  _and_  people off this station before, as you know." His smile widened to a nauseating grin and he slid his hand across the table, reaching out a finger to brush the back of hers. At his touch she jumped up and reached for the Phaser at her hip.

The locale changed, to what looked like the Old Terok Nor, all twisting corridors and gloomy, oppressive heat. She was immediately conscious that she was in civilian clothes, a filmy nothing of a dress like the ones the comfort women had worn. She scrabbled at her hip, but there was no Phaser there.

When she looked up, Dukat was in front of her, like the evil spirit in a festival play. She stepped away and found her back _literally_ against the wall.

He moved closer, so close she could feel his body heat through his armour and her clothes.

"It's your hair," he breathed into her ear," twirling the lock that brushed her cheek around his finger. "No Cardassian woman could ever match it."

She braced her back against the wall and tried to shove him away, but he was like a rock, immovable and he laughed at her efforts and pressed his body closer. Kira kicked and punched, but she didn't have the room to make her blows count. Suddenly, her mind cleared and she shoved her hand under his breast plate and pinched.

Dukat's look of delight slid off his face as his left side went slack; as he crumpled, she shoved him away and ran. She ran down the corridor, looking from side to side for a weapon. A door opened and she was in the Wardroom, in the centre of the conference table was, of all things, a Kilingon Bat'leth.

She grabbed it, finding it heavy but not unwieldy. Using one of the outer grips she swung it, two handed, over her shoulder and waited for Dukat to come through the door.

The door shushed open. She began her swing, only stopping herself at the last moment from splitting Macet's skull in two.

"What is the matter Nerys?" he asked, gently.

Her arms dropped and the Bat'keth fell to the floor, "I thought you were Dukat." She made a funny noise, somewhere between a choke and a sob and before he could say anything, or otherwise react, she kissed him.

She knew that Cardassians kissed, at least Dukat had kissed her mother, dream Macet seemed a little uncertain, but caught on quickly and his hands needed no guidance at all. "Nerys," he managed to articulate during a mutual break for air, "Why are you doing this?"

"Shut up," she interrupted, kicking away a tangle of their clothes. "I don't have much time." She stroked where she hoped it would get his full attention and was rewarded by a heartfelt groan that melted her insides, "I'm dreaming," she finished with conviction.

Macet grabbed her questing hands and pushed them away, only it wasn't Macet any more, it was Odo. "Nerys, why are you doing this?"

She woke up, in her own bed, gasping and tangled in sweaty sheets. She lay there for a moment, waiting for the fog of sleep to lift, feeling her pulse thudding and her skin singing, even as her heart drowned in misery.

Finally she picked up the chronometer beside her bed and hurled it at the far wall, smashing it.


	8. Keeping all your eggs in one basket.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Macet's behaviour becomes suspicious and another death is discovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic, rated a cautions M for mild to moderate sexual activity, violence, and language. This chapter has another corpse in it.
> 
> Set after the end of the series. Spoilers galore for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd (I re-read, edit and fiddle over and over) so any stuff ups are all mine.
> 
> The events in this fic take place during the events in the DS9 relaunch novel "Cathedral", I can't ignore the big events in this book, where I've written about them I've picked a different character and written from their perspective.

Putting all your eggs in one basket

After her disconcerting dream Kira prowled around her quarters for an hour and then went to the Springball court to hammer a ball into submission, just as she wished she could do with her dreams. She stayed there until she was too exhausted to think and almost to stand; finally, she dragged herself back into bed and slept peacefully until morning.

Another busy day ensued. Kira saw steady reports from Lieutenant Ro as she and the Station Security teams, bolstered by some extra Officers from the USS Gryphon, simultaneously swept the remaining Docking Pylon's. Their cover story - for the curious - was that it was all part of the preparations for the signing ceremony, but no one seemed unusually interested. In the end, all they had to show for their efforts was a fractured wrist, sustained by Ensign Jensar, when a pressure door in Lower Docking Pylon three malfunctioned and closed on his arm.

At the end of the sweeps, the Colonel made her report to Admiral Akaar and the Office of Shaakar Edon, the First Minister of Bajor, simultaneously. Akaar, with considerably improved courtesy since Kira had lost her temper with him, let her listen in while he talked further to the head of Shaakar's security team. The Admiral strongly petitioned for a change of venue for the signing, his suggestion being one of the Major Temples - with a much reduced guest list - improved Kira's respect for him considerably. Akaar was clearly un-phased by the idea of offending a huge number of Federation dignitaries as long as it protected the main players in Bajor's entry into the United Federation of Planets. Essentially, his guest list comprised only those who had direct and recent input in the bringing of Bajor into the Federation: the First Minister of Bajor Shakaar Edon, Second Minister Asarem Wadeen, Federation Counsellor Charivretha zh'Thane of Andor, Akaar and whatever Security these persons deemed necessary.

He finished by complimenting Kira's management of the security sweeps and the attempts to find the Force Field Bubble device, making it clear that he believed all that could be done had been done to find it. Kira found herself almost touched.

Having listened carefully to what Akaar had to say, the Chief of the First Ministers Security detail agreed that a change of venue seemed sensible and promised to discuss it with the first Minister and his advisers immediately.

After the screen went blank, Akaar sat frowning at it for some time. "What do you think Shaakar will decide?"

Even though he had recently been more respectful and considerate of her opinion, Kira felt surprised to be asked. "I'm not certain," she said honestly; she hesitated, weighing up her loyalty to Shaakar, or at least the Shaakar she thought she'd known, over the value her honest opinion might have for the Admiral. "He's very determined to see Bajor signed into the Federation. I think he will do what is necessary to see that happen," she temporised.

Akaar made a harrumphing noise and pressed his palms together, tapping the tips of his index fingers against one another. "If you'll excuse me Colonel, I must report to the Federation Council." He gestured towards the door of his quarters indicating that she should leave.

Kira took the hint. She looked back, intending to give him a civil nod as she passed out of the door, but he had already turned back to his work station. Rolling her eyes a little, she entered the corridor of the habitat ring and made for the nearest Turbolift that would take her back to Ops. As she mentally reviewed her "to do" list for the day, her stomach lurched, she hadn't got round to reporting to Macet on the search for the unknown person who had taken the Force Field Bubble device.

Forensic examination of the scene had revealed that the dissipating and decayed Baryon radiation had a centre point approximately two meters from the closest part of the Corpse; though decayed Baryon radiation was present on the body, the levels were consistent with contamination by the dissipating cloud rather than direct contact. This supported the theory that there had been some kind of barrier between the source of the radiation and what was left of its victim, who had been confirmed as a Romulan. Essentially, the evidence supported the presence of the Force Field Bubble device. What she didn't know was how much to tell Macet; she had not received any direction on the matter from either Admiral Akaar or the Bajoran Militia Command.

She recognised her desire to avoid the issue, not just because she was uncertain of how much she should take him into her official confidence, but - unsurprisingly - because she had spent part of the previous night dreaming about him naked. Odo jumping into the dream had made her discomfort worse by adding an element of shame to her general embarrassment.

Rationally, she knew the dream was just her subconscious dealing with her feelings about Macet and Odo, Dukat no doubt representing her early issues with Macet's uncanny resemblance to the (she hoped) dead ex leader of Cardassia. The dream didn't invalidate her decision not to act on her interest in Macet until she had spoken to Odo, it re-enforced it, but it hardly made things more comfortable in the mean time.

She arrived in Ops, still undecided. There were a few issues awaiting her attention and she was finally mounting the stairs to her office when the Docking Officer called her name.

"Colonel, Gul Macet is calling from The Trager; he's asking to speak to you urgently."

Kira paused in mid step, had he heard about the sweeps? Was he calling to find out why she hadn't had the courtesy to update him? She mentally shook herself, she couldn't in good conscience put him off and she certainly couldn't stand here half way up the stairs, worrying about it in front of the Ops crew. "I'll take it in my office," she said, over her shoulder and carried on up the stairs.

She waited until her door was shut, and she was comfortably sat, before activating the visual feed on her comm. unit. "Gul Macet, are you are feeling better?"

"I'm fully returned to health, thank you," the Gul replied, repressively.

Kira had to hide a smile at that, the Gul was obviously a little embarrassed by his incapacity; as someone who disliked showing weakness herself, she could appreciate that. "That's good," she said.

"Well, never mind that. I apologise for the late hour Colonel, I'm afraid I have a favour to ask."

"Oh?" Kira's mind raced. "What kind of favour?" Her subconscious jumped in with "sexual favour" and sat back laughing at her mental blush.

"My Second Officer failed to inform Station Operations that we intended to depart this evening."

Kira waited for some further explanation; Macet was obviously angling for approval to depart without proper notice, something that Kira wouldn't automatically refuse, as long as the reason given was acceptable. However, it quickly became apparent that Macet was oblivious to this unwritten rule. "I'm sorry Macet," she said, "I can't let you jump the line - unless there's a good reason."

There was something about Macet's manner that suggested he was uncertain, or divided about what to do, or say, next. In the end he just said, "I  _assure_  you there is a very good reason Colonel."

Kira found that interesting; it seemed that wherever Macet wanted to go and whatever he was going to do when he got there, he didn't plan to tell her. She didn't necessarily expect the truth; Captain's wanting to bend the rules always had a cover story ready to bolster their request. Kira had listened to more tales of dying mothers than she cared to remember and had hoped for something more imaginative from Macet. She let the silence stretch, hoping he'd be tempted to fill it with an explanation, but he simply sat there, calmly waiting.

"Stand by Macet," she cut the comm. link and sat back, pondering. If the Trager was leaving in order to do something detrimental to the Station, or Bajor, or the Federation, then surely he'd have concocted a story in advance?

Something was going on, something Macet couldn't or wouldn't talk about. She tapped her comm. badge, "Kira to Ro..." she called the Lieutenant to her office, a second opinion was needed. Whatever she thought about Macet personally, as a Captain, he was responsible for his crew's failure to file a proper departure request. It wouldn't hurt him to wait for his answer.

* * *

Kira gave the Trager permission to depart and closed the Comm. line. She turned back to Lieutenant Ro, "No doubt we'll soon find out if that was the right decision."

"Like you said," the Security Chief shrugged, "trust has to begin somewhere. Was there anything more -" her comm. badge interrupted her.

"Ensign Kala to Lieutenant Ro."

Ro looked at the Colonel before answering, who gave her a small "go ahead" nod.

"Uh, a maintenance crew have just found a body at the bottom of one of the turbo lift shafts in the Main Fusion Reactor."

Kira realised that she and Ro were gaping at each other. "Who is it?" she managed eventually.

"We don't know Colonel, but it there's some smashed equipment. It's not part of the Station and bits of it look like that Dominion Device we were looking for when we were sweeping the Pylons." They heard a soft beep over the Comm. Line, "My tri-corder says it's a Cardassian female."

Kira darted to her office door. "Choma," she called to the Officer on Docking Control, "has the Trager left?"

"Yes, Colonel, they've just gone to warp," said the Bajoran, looking startled. "They were very quick about it, must have been fully prepared for departure when you gave them approval. Is there a problem, should I hail them?"

"Yes, hail them, actually no!" The Colonel held up a hand, "Belay that." She turned to look at Ro, her jaw set. "I think we'd better go look at this body."

Ro simply nodded and led the way.

* * *

The body was a sad looking thing, limbs at ridiculous angles, bones and sinews smashed and ripped so that there appeared to be joints where no joints should be. Her lungs had burst on impact, causing her ribs to explode outwards, tearing through the flesh of her chest and shredding her clothes.

Even Kira, as battle hardened as she was, didn't want to look at what remained of the woman's head.

A basic tri-corder scan had told Ensign Kala that the body was that of a Cardassian female, but Kira would have know just by looking; she'd seen enough Cardassian bodies, inside and out, to recognise the few structures that remained intact.

She'd reported to Admiral Akaar on the way down to the Main Fusion Reactor. He'd almost sounded pleased, though Kira hoped that had more to do with the likely presence of the Force Field Bubble Device, however smashed, rather than at the death of an unknown Cardassian.

For now there was nothing that she could do but stand by while Dr Tarses and a Forensic specialist finished their initial examinations. Dr. Tarses seemed to be taking a particularly long time and frowning a lot over it. Finally, he stood up and addressed both Kira and Ro together. "There's something a bit, well,  _odd_."

In Kira's opinion the whole situation was odd. Who was this woman and where had she been hiding before she died? "Please explain Doctor."

"Well, for one thing, some of the protein envelopes surrounding her corneocytes have ruptured."

Kira was pleased that Lieutenant Ro was looking as baffled as she was, "Please explain Doctor."

"They compose the first level of the epidermis," replied Tarses, absently, frowning at his tri-corder. "The structure of the epidermis, at the cellular level, is broadly similar in most humanoid species, though Cardassian skin cells are rather flatter than the average." He looked up from his tri-corder and frowned at the wall, "Odd," he repeated.

"Is this relevant to the cause of death?" asked Lieutenant Ro, with more than a trace of impatience.

"What, oh - no. I can't see how." He frowned down at the Corpse again, "The poor woman died on impact. Either with the bottom of the shaft or perhaps the walls as she fell. The injuries are textbook, for a Cardassian."

"So you are absolutely certain that she was alive when she fell?" persisted Ro.

"Yes," said the Doctor simply, losing his air of abstraction. "Despite the dreadful damage done to her body, her heart continued to pump for a second or two after impact, hence the arterial splatter." He indicated a trail of blood spots going a little way up the shaft wall, "It's not as high as you might expect, but I doubt her heart was pumping efficiently at the time."

"When can we expect an identification?" asked Colonel Kira.

"If she's one of the Cardassians that came aboard with the Trager, we should have her genetic profile on file; we've been asking that of anyone involved with the diplomatic parties, as part of the new security measures building up to the signing. It's not a resident, obviously."

Kira nodded, since Garak had left there were no resident Cardassians on the station at all. "Thank you Doctor," she said and indicated that Ro should follow her. For the sake of finding some privacy, she led the way to another Turboshaft and entered the lift. When it started to move she stopped it between floors. "So," she turned to Ro, "we have a dead Cardassian surrounded by broken equipment - that's probably a smashed Forcefield Bubble Device -  _just_  before a swarm of diplomats are due to arrive for an historic event that will shift the power balance in this corner of the quadrant.  _And,_  just as this happens, the most senior Cardassian Military presence on the Station leaves in a rush, and refuses to tell us where he and his ship are going."

"I know," replied Ro. "It doesn't look good." She scowled, thinking fast. "If Gul Macet placed an operative aboard the station with the Forcefield Bubble Device - no, wait! They'd have to get one from the Romulans first."

"Not necessarily," said Kira, grimly. "It was Macet who told us that all the Cardassian held devices were where they were supposed to be; he could have been lying."

"Damn him," Ro scowled. "Of course, you're right. Alright," she half closed her eyes. "Macet brings the device and the operative to the station, but what about the dead "Romulan"? Where does he come in?"

Kira shook her head, "If Macet set this up, I can't see how he comes into it at all! Destroying Ziyal's art could only be about destabilising the talks between Bajor and Cardassia, something Macet has been working himself to the bone to promote. We still have no idea what this Cardassian was planning to do, whether she was in league with the Romulan, or..." Kira slammed a fist backwards into the wall, finding the pain refreshing. "Unless," she chewed her bottom lip, "could Macet have sent her covertly onto the Station to find the device?"

Ro shook her head doubtfully, "If that was the case why didn't she just take it back onto the Trager? I'm sure they could have found a way. They've had over 26 hours and the Starfleet Engineering team have been off the ship for at least half of that."

Kira shook her head again, "This isn't getting us anywhere, it's all theories. I need to talk to Akaar; we have very little time before the dignitaries start arriving for the signing, and Shakaar and his people are already considering moving the ceremony." She tapped the panel on the wall and got the turbolift moving again.

* * *

This time Shakaar was speaking to Admiral Akaar personally. Akaar had allowed Kira to listen in, but again he'd sat her out of sight.

"So what are you recommending Admiral?" asked the First Minister, politely.

"In view of the fact that a Cardassian appears to be involved, and that the Cardassian Military representative has left the station in a hurry with an inadequate explanation,  _and_  that Cardassia has access to more than one of these Devices, I am strongly suggesting that we move the ceremony as discussed."

"Is there any actual evidence that there is another one of these devices aboard?"

"No, but at present we do not know how the first one got here."

"And what would they actually do with a second one, if they had it? Erect the bubble over my head and dissolve me with this radiation? Wouldn't the enormous security force I know will be present at the signing notice if someone places the device next to the podium and activates it? As I understand this technology, it is for hiding and destroying evidence. Since I am certain there will be constant scans of every piece of the Station I might walk through, I have to say, I think you are over re-acting."

"And what if the device is simply being used to hide an Assassin until the signing ceremony, what then?"

Shakaar sighed, "What if the Dominion send a flotilla of ships to blow up the station? What if the Breen and the Klingons form a new alliance and do the same? What if one religious maniac decides that I'm an enemy of the Prophets, hides a molecular bomb on the surface of their clothes and sets it off while reaching for my ear to feel my "Pagh"? There will always be risk and I think, with all the Security in place, that this one is acceptable."

"So, you are determined First Minister. The signing will go ahead on Deep Space Nine."

"I am," Shakaar responded with a broad smile.

"Then there is nothing further to say."

"Walk with the Prophets Admiral," with that, Shakaar cut the connection.

Admiral Akaar turned to Kira and raised an interrogative eyebrow.

"He's right," said Kira, responding to the unspoken question. "There is always a risk for him, wherever he goes. At least we know it and can prepare."

"Hmm," Akaar tapped a finger on the work station. "But prepare for what?  _Is_  Gul Macet involved in this?"

Kira opened her mouth, intending to say that there was some circumstantial evidence, but that it was impossible to say conclusively. But instead she found herself simply saying, "No."

Both Akaar's brows went up at that, "What makes you say that?"

Kira huffed out a breath, feeling her face redden a little. "I'm sorry, that was a personal opinion. It just doesn't seem consistent with his behaviour, as far as I've observed it."

"You're observations aren't evidence." Akaar gave her thoughtful and somewhat disapproving look, "I've heard rumours. Do you and Macet have an intimate, personal relationship?"

"No," replied Kira, firmly, pushing down her anger. "However, I've had dealings with him in my role as Station Commander, and in my opinion he would not be party to this kind of subterfuge."

"I see," the Admiral continued to stare at her for a few moments more. "Well," he dropped his eyes, "I'm inclined to agree. I have done my own research into Gul Macet's past. He is, first and foremost, a military man. Show him a target and ask him to take it, show him a stronghold and ask him to defend it, or show him a border and ask him to secure it and he will do it and do it very well. But, he has never been involved in the planning and execution of covert work." The Admiral almost sneered, "I have read the reports of the USS Phoenix incident. Macet acted precipitously in attacking The Enterprise, out of anger at the destruction of the Cardassian vessels. If anything he rather bungled the affair. It explains why, with his age and experience, he was still a low level Gul, with only one ship to command, when the Dominion took over."

"He seems fairly central to current events," said Kira, carefully keeping her tone neutral.

"His current involvement in Politics is more a matter of necessity than ability," said Akaar, indifferently. "The simple fact is there are very few experienced Gul's left in the Cardassian Military, and his sympathies are in line with the current administration. He is a trustworthy courier, nothing more."

Kira simply nodded; trying to keep the anger off her face. It was lucky the Admiral wasn't looking her way, as she wasn't sure she was succeeding.

The Admiral opened a file on his work station and started to read. "Please have your Security Chief prepare a revised set of Security plans in liaison with my people by 12:00 hours tomorrow. We need to have everything in place before the Bajoran ship of state,  _Li Nalas,_  docks the following morning at 09:00 hours, station time."

Kira looked at him in consternation; that gave Ro little more than eleven hours to conduct the security review, as long as she didn't have any sleep.

Akaar turned to look at her, his eyebrows up, as if he was surprised she was still there, "That will be all Colonel."

* * *

Refusing to let her Security Chief be the only person on her senior staff to suffer a sleepless night, Kira joined Ro and firmed up the Security plans with the Starfleet team. Since every possible security scan was already being done, it became a matter of finding more warm bodies to fill Security Uniforms and organising them into effective teams. In the end, every Starfleet and Bajoran Militia who had ever held a Phaser was drafted in, most of the more experienced around the venue of the signing, but with at least one experienced Officer with every outlying patrol. Once they were done with the plans, Ro and the Starfleet Security Chief rushed off to start organising teams, fuelled by a mixture of Raktajino and stress. Watching them go, Kira ruefully started planning a rota of mandatory leave for the Station's senior staff, for once the signing was done.

"Infirmary to Colonel Kira," said Kira's comm. badge.

She nearly groaned out loud, "Kira here."

"This is Dr. Tarses. I've just spoken to the Security Office and they said that Lieutenant Ro was unavailable; I need to talk to you about our deceased Cardassian."

"I'll be right there Doctor." Kira squared her shoulders and blinked a few times, dragging herself back into focus, and made her way to the Infirmary.

* * *

The Cardassian's corpse lay beneath a sheet on a biobed in the autopsy suite. If Kira hadn't known what was there, she wouldn't have identified the random lumps and bumps as humanoid remains.

"I have an identification," said Dr. Tarses, without preamble as she walked through the door.

Kira walked to the head of the bed and looked down at the shrouded form, "Who was she?"

"Glinn Gila Ovan. I have her biography here; The Cardassian Governmental archives have been surprisingly helpful, if a little slow."

"Was she from Macet's ship?" asked Kira, bracing herself for the answer.

"Yes, but not recently. She left his ship at the beginning of the rebellion and joined the "True Way"." Dr Tarses looked up from his Padd, "I don't know much about them."

"They're a Cardassian Political group that was largely exterminated on Cardassia's entry into the Dominion," Kira rubbed at her temples. "We've had reports that they're gaining ground again. They oppose the Democratic government and Cardassia forming links with the Federation and others. What was her position on Macet's ship?"

"Um," Tarses looked at the Padd in his hand. "Oh yes, here it is, she was his Science Officer."

"May I see that Doctor," Kira held out her hand, her voice sounding strained, even to her own ears. The Doctor handed her the Padd with a puzzled look, but she didn't feel inclined to explain her odd manner.

The biography of Glinn Ovan was headed by an interactive, whole body shot, that could be expanded to fit the whole screen, or zoomed in as required. Kira chose to focus on the woman's face. She tried to remember what Macet had said about his ex-lover at their dinner in Ambassador Lang's quarters. As far as she recalled, he had simply stated that they had a relationship, and that he didn't know where she was, or whether she had survived the Dominion's scourging of Cardassia.

She wasn't sure what she was looking for. To her, the Glinn could have been any Cardassian woman. She had thick black hair, pulled off her face, with dangling braids over her shoulders and the classic dark eyes, and strong facial features and ridges. Lastly, something that Kira had noticed did vary from Cardassian woman to Cardassian woman, her "spoon" was coloured bright blue. She realised she had no idea what generally made a Cardassian woman attractive to a Cardassian male, but there was nothing visually about this woman that made her, Kira Nerys, an obvious object of desire to Gul Macet.

She mentally shook herself and forced her mind away from personal issues. Ovan had been a member of the "True Way," not an organisation that would want Cardassia's peace talks with Bajor to succeed; an organisation who would regard Dukat's acknowledgement and failure to murder his child by his Bajoran mistress as a disgusting aberration. No doubt they felt the same about Tora Ziyal's art, and its use as an Icon for the peace process. Would they have joined forces with the Romulans who were occupying their outlying regions of space? They might. Their main focus would always be Cardassia Prime, and they might see loosing some outlying territories as a reasonable price to pay for access to the Force Field Bubble Device.

It was a logical theory, and more to the point it almost certainly let Macet off the hook. Kira sighed and rubbed her eyes, realising she had to go back to Admiral Akaar  _again_. "Thank you Doctor. Please try and find out if she has any family who may want the body back." she turned to leave.

"Wait," Dr. Tarses held up a hand, "I would like to run some more tests."

Kira stopped in mid step, "Why?" she said over her shoulder. "Do you have any doubts about the cause of death?"

"None at all," said the Doctor, emphatically. "It's just, as I told you at the scene, some of the results of her cellular scans are odd."

"Fine," said Kira, with a touch of impatience. "Whatever you need to do Doctor."

* * *

Akaar viewed the identification of the body, as a member of the Cardassian "True Way", as good news. Both he and Kira considered it highly unlikely that Alon Ghemor, the relatively new Castellan of a Democratic Cardassia, would lend the Force Field Bubble Device to an organisation whose stated goal was to see him stripped of power. Essentially, Akaar felt that they were back where they were before the issue of the Force Field Bubble device arose. More than enough factions who wanted to de-rail the signing, but none of them an immediate threat.

Kira's next stop was Ro's Office, where she found her Security Chief snoozing with her feet on her desk. Regretfully, she woke her, catching her up on the latest developments before ordering her to her quarters for two hours, long enough for a decent nap, but still giving her enough time to firm up the preparations for the arrival of First Minister Shakaar, and his retinue, the next morning. She just hoped that everyone else concerned could get a decent nights sleep before then.

* * *

The following morning, the transition of the First Minister - and his retinue - from the Bajoran ship of state Li Nalas, to the station, went smoothly. Unless you counted Shakaar's gleeful, if veiled, digs at Kira's inability to attend the temple services.

She didn't have to try hard to forget it; the day was filled with so many things to do. It flew from her thoughts before she'd made it back to her office.

Long past dinner time she was grateful for a distraction in the shape of an old friend. General Lenaris Holem, of the Bajoran Militia, should have been a breath of fresh air. Instead, he left Kira with a new set of worries. He asked her to join the Ohalavaru, the movement born out of the publishing of the Ohalu text.

The Vedek Assembly had wanted the text destroyed, but Kira had transcribed and released Ohalu's writings to the public, in open defiance of their orders. Ohalu had written that the Prophets in the CelestialTemple were not Gods, but a benevolent alien race. Kira had believed with every fibre of her being that suppressing the texts was the wrong thing to do. She'd believed the Bajorans were strong enough to see Ohalu's ideas as just another way of understanding the Prophets, as she had done so through the eyes of her friends from the Federation.

Her action had led Vedek Yevir to petition the Vedek Assembly to "Attaint" Kira and he had had his way. Kira was stripped of her right to worship in the temples and wear her earring. Effectively, she was banished from all Bajoran, religious life.

General Lenaris did not fully understand Kira's horror when he confirmed that the Ohalu text had achieved exactly what the Vedek Assembly had feared. The Bajorans were starting to divide, at a time when they desperately needed to pull together. All because some now believed in the superior truth of the Ohalu texts; the texts that she had given them access to.

Worse was to come when the Ohalavaru, as the followers of Ohalu called themselves, disturbed the special late night Temple service in honour of the signing. Standing at the front of the congregation, removing their Bajoran earrings, casting them on the floor and stating that they did it in support of Kira, they almost started a riot. Thankfully, they obeyed Kira when she ordered them out of the Temple, taking every care not to lay a toe over the threshold as she did so.

Her despair was not mitigated when she discovered that there had been similar disturbances at services all over Bajor. The arrival of Lieutenant Ro in her office, with some bracing, comforting words, slightly lifted her spirits only to have them crash again when the Lieutenant delivered the coup de grace to her truly awful day. Ro was planning to resign her commission once Bajor entered the Federation.

After staring in desperation at a baseball and a bucket, her only keepsakes of the two people she had trusted most in the quadrant, she kicked over her desk and finally, sat down and cried.

She spent another, miserable, restless night filled with disconcerting dreams, none of which featured Macet, or Odo. In her many waking moments, she wished for either of them to walk into her quarters, so that she could leap on them, just as she had in her dreams; contact - any contact - would have been of comfort.

The new morning began at a ridiculously early hour, with meeting after meeting. She was just drawing breath, and preparing for the next, when her communicator chirruped. "What now," she muttered under her breath, before tapping the badge. "Kira here."

"Colonel Kira, The Trager has just returned with Gul Macet and Vedek Yevir! They're asking permission to Dock."

"What? No," Kira interjected as the Docking Officer started to say it all over again. "I didn't mean repeat it." She thought furiously, her stomach churning. What on Bajor was Yevir doing with Macet? "What do they have to say for themselves?"

"Just that they want to present something on the Promenade in 10 minutes. They're taking to First Minister Shakaar and Second Minister Asarem about it now."

Kira massaged her temples, "Contact Lieutenant Ro and tell her to get Security to the Promenade on the double; I'm on my way there."

* * *

Word had obviously spread quickly, the Promenade was heaving by the time Kira arrived. There was nowhere on the main floor that would give her a decent view, so she decided to take position on one of the Upper Levels, that were still almost empty. She managed to find a space against the rail and realised that it was a much better position, giving her a better view of what Yevir was up to and, Prophets forbid, any resulting trouble. She noted, with approval, that Ro's Security teams, bolstered by Starfleet Officers, were spreading out through the crowd. Suddenly, she felt a presence at her elbow and found Vedek Solis there; she managed to smile and took comfort from the nearness of one of the few Bajorans who didn't seem to care about her Attainted status. She turned back to watch what was going on, trying to make sense of the mixed band of Bajoran and Cardassian Clerics, who'd grouped themselves around Vedek Yevir.

Suddenly the group parted and she saw Macet. Something fluttered in her chest and she felt an echo of the floating joy she'd experienced when Trier had accidentally confirmed his interest in her. 

Without warning, he looked up and their eyes locked. They started at each other for a long moment, and a warm pulse began beat in Kira's belly, spreading to fill her whole being.

He broke their gaze first, but she could see that it was an effort; she watched the rapid rise and fall of his chest and wondered if his breath was whistling through his teeth. She tried not to feel elated by her effect on him, until it occurred to her that he might not have fully recovered from his illness. That made her worry about his health, and whether he had been truly fit enough to make the rushed journey to Cardassia. She watched until his breathing slowed to a more natural level, and then followed the line of his fixed stare.

Macet was watching Yevir and Kira realised that the Vedek had been talking for some time. She watched as he showed the crowd the statue that Kassidy Yates had apparently given him during his visit, that had so unhappily coincided with her own, and talk about what the mix of Bajoran and Cardassian features might mean. She found it difficult to catch every word that he said, for though Vedek Yevir had the carrying voice natural to a practiced public speaker, the sheer crowd noise - made up of fidgeting, craning people, shuffling around for a better view, plus the non Bajorans whispering and even talking quietly to each other- rose and fell, sometimes obscuring what was said.

She did hear him say something about the Oralian way, explaining the presence of the Cardassian Cleric at his side, and about a religious exchange, which Kira certainly thought was a good idea, if completely unlike the old Yevir. Her eyes strayed to where Shakaar was standing, on a separate part of the upper levels, his face impassive. Something about the set of his shoulder suggested that he was not pleased with this turn of events and that made Kira's day.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and realised that Yevir had stopped talking; as she watched, four Bajoran Rectorates pulled the cloths from the objects flanking the Vedek. A gasp went round the crowd.

Orbs.

Tears of the Prophets, the four missing orbs, returned to Bajor through the agency of Bajorans and Cardassians working together.

Kira didn't need to hear Yevir say the names, Truth, Destiny, Souls and Unity. Children knew their names and sang songs about them.

Bajorans cried out all around her, some fainted; she found herself in the tight embrace of Vedek Solis, while he spoke comforting words that she didn't hear. Over and over in her mind were the words of one of the Prophecies, from the sacred texts, like a song that had got stuck in her head - "When the children have wept all, anew will shine the twilight of their destiny."

She didn't know if she finally said the words out loud, but she began to cry, searching the milling crowds over Solis' shoulder for the one particular face she wanted to see, to whom, she believed, this chance of reconciliation would mean so much. Bajorans all around them were rushing up, throwing their hands in the air, crying and laughing and trying to speak to them all at once. Before Kira could find Macet's face in the crowd, the Vedek covered them both with his cloak and gave her the privacy to weep her joyful tears in peace.


	9. This mortal coil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return of the Orbs causes excitement, then Macet causes Kira excitement, then tragedy strikes which causes everyone excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic, rated a cautions M for mild to moderate sexual activity, violence, and language. This chapter has another corpse in it.
> 
> Set after the end of the series. Spoilers galore for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd (I re-read, edit and fiddle over and over) so any stuff ups are all mine.
> 
> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along. I am entering and especially busy period in real life but will do my best to keep up the pace.
> 
> I've covered enough of what happened in the novels to make sense of what's going on if you haven't read them and re-written a couple of scenes from a different perspective if I thought I needed to for clarity. All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing and the returned Orbs comes from the books which are well worth a read.

This mortal coil

At first it was quiet under Vedek Solis' cloak, but as her tears dried, she realised that the noise of the crowd on the upper level of the Promenade was getting steadily louder. There were shouts, followed by a bellowed curse and a scream. Someone, or something, bumped into them and Kira felt an urgent tug on her arm; blinded by material, she staggered a few steps in the direction Vedek Solis seemed to want her to go, then stopped dead, unwilling to move any further when she could not see. She started scrabbling at the engulfing, orange fabric, but whichever way she pulled there always seemed to be more. The Vedek, realising what she was trying to do, swept the cloak away and finally she could see what was going on.

She wiped her eyes and looked around. Immediately, she understood why Solis had pulled her back from the rail. People were pressing forward to get a look at the Orbs and more were flowing into the area behind them. She tapped her comm. badge "Kira to Security, the central, upper level of the Promenade is getting dangerously crowded. I need security up here."

"This is Ro. Security are trying to block access to the Upper levels now. Some are up there trying to get people to turn around, if you can help, that would be good."

"Acknowledged, I'm with Vedek Solis, they might listen to him."

Kira looked over at the Vedek, who nodded decisively, turning immediately to address a group that were rushing into the area, bouncing up and down on their tiptoes as they came, trying to see over the mass of heads against the rail.

Kira turned to talk to someone else, but her attention was caught by a Bajoran woman, slumped against a wall, seemingly alone. She pushed her way through the milling people and bent down, pressing her fingers to the woman's neck.

There was a heartbeat, but it was weak and irregular. Kira tapped her comm. badge again. "Kira to Infirmary, we need some medical teams on the Promenade."

"Tarses here," came the reply. "I already have some on the way Colonel, but they're struggling to get through the crowds."

Kira swore under her breath. "In that case I need an emergency transport; I have an urgent case here, Bajoran female, laboured breathing, unconscious, elderly."

A claw like hand grabbed the front of Kira's uniform and weakly tugged Kira down to her level. "Who are you calling elderly?" came the faintest whisper of a voice. One baleful, green eye opened, glared at the Colonel and then closed again.

"Change that to semi-conscious," said Kira with a rueful smile.

She heard Tarses shouting orders to someone, some distance away, about an emergency transport, but nothing happen. Someone cannoned into her back and she just saved herself from falling on the woman, by slamming her palm onto the wall.

"I'll try and shield your back," bellowed Solis in her ear.

Kira rubbed her hand and risked a look over her shoulder. The upper level of the Promenade was now packed with people and more were pressing in. The Station had 20 times its usual resident population, thanks to all the visitors for the signing, the closest it had ever been to full capacity. If the crowd behind her was any indication, all of them were piling onto whatever part of the Promenade they could reach.

She tapped her comm. badge again "Kira to Infirmary," she shouted over the increasing din. "Where's my transport?"

"Can't get a firm lock," she heard, faintly. "Too many Bajorans milling around, too close together. The lock keeps skipping from one to the other."

Kira yanked her comm. badge off her uniform and attached it to the woman's clothes. "Get a lock on my comm. badge, one to transport."

"Got it," she heard Tarses say.

The elderly woman vanished in a column of shimmering light just as the crowd, all trying to push forward, rebounded and surged back. There were screams and Vedek Solis was knocked off his feet, falling away to the left, disappearing from view under a pile of bodies. Kira tried to reach for him but she was slammed against the wall by another surge.

The man pressed against her was gasping in her face, his lips turning blue. He'd been eating Hasperat; she could taste the brine in the air between them. She tried to push him away, to make space for them both to breath, but there was nowhere for him to go. Changing tack she reached down for her Phaser, reasoning that if she stunned everyone they'd at least stop pushing, but her sweaty fingers kept slipping away from the grip.

There was a bare second of relief as the crowd pushed in another direction; she just managed to heave in a lungful of air before they pressed back so hard that her feet left the ground. She kicked and flailed, but nothing seemed to work and she found herself rapidly losing strength.

She couldn't breath. Her heartbeat hammered in her skull. The promenade seemed to slide off to the right and the faces around distorted, as if she was looking into warped mirrors. She wondered where O'Brien was, he'd fix the Promenade and stop it tilting and sliding and bending people's heads. O'Brien always fixed things eventually, even when he'd said it was impossible.

The now unconscious man, with Hasperat breath, was pushed off to the right and crushed against the wall, before the crowd changed direction yet again and his full weight landed on her left side, upsetting her balance and pushing her over and downwards. She kicked her feet, weakly trying to find the floor, but she couldn't stop herself from falling. She landed, half on the ground and half on someone else's thrashing legs.

What felt like the whole crowd fell on top of her.

It was very dark down there and she was very tired, so she went to sleep.

* * *

Kira became aware of light; it was blazing through her eyelids, so she screwed her eyes tight shut and tried to shout for someone to turn it off; the noises that came out of her mouth were certainly not words and that annoyed her, so she covered her eyes with the back of her hand and tried to shout again.

The light went away and someone said her name; Kira thought they had a nice voice and considered opening her eyes to see if their face was just as nice, but her eyelids felt too heavy.

Someone tapped her cheek, "Open your eyes Nerys."

"Go away," she managed to say.

Whoever the cheek tapper was they were laughing, "I can't do that, you must wake up."

"Urgh," she forced her eyelids open and squinted up at the face hanging above her. "Hello Macet."

"Hello Colonel," he said gravely. "How do you feel?"

"Like a Pugabeast sat on me." She dragged in a long, slow breath; her ribs hurt, but there was no sharp pain and the rest of her body felt functional. "What happened?"

"About fifteen hundred Bajorans tried to squeeze into an area made for five hundred."

"Oh." She realised she was lying down on a very cold, hard surface and Macet was kneeling over her. She raised her head and looked around; they were in a large space that she didn't recognise. Dotted around the floor were other people, some lying down, others sitting or standing. There was a lot of groaning and some crying, but Bajoran and Starfleet medics were moving around, helping those who needed it. "Help me up," she put out her hand.

He didn't argue with her, just grasped her arm and steadied her as she came to her feet, one hand in the small off her back. He let go as soon as he was sure she was securely upright; Kira was glad of it, even after he removed his hand the heat continued to sink into her spine and flow into her veins; she found herself imagining what it would feel like to have his hand on her bare skin, on her belly, or the soft surface of her inner thigh.

She pressed her fingers to her eyes, pushing the thoughts away. "Where are we?"

"In the cargo hold of the Trager. When the upper levels became dangerously crowded we started transporting people out, as did the Station Transporters."

"I need to get back to Ops." Kira looked around as if she expected to see a magic door. "I need to know if Vedek Solis is all right."

"Can you walk?" The Doctors and Medics are performing triage and have asked for the transporters to remain clear for emergency transports to the Infirmary.

"All of them?"

Macet shrugged, "I didn't try to argue with them."

Kira made a frustrated noise. "Never mind, I can walk." She took a hasty step and wobbled. Macet was there immediately, hand back in the curve of her spine, the other under her elbow. He didn't grasp or grab, he just stood there, like a prop.

Kira kept her head very still and stared at a fixed point on the far wall, waiting for her balance to return. It didn't help that Macet's hands were playing havoc with her balance, concentration and libido all at once. Being simultaneously nauseous and desperate to kiss someone was a new experience.

Dr Tarses appeared with a medical Tri-Corder. "Stand still Colonel, you were in the early stages of Hypoxia when we beamed you here, it's only natural that you should be a little shaken." Almost immediately he started to frown. "Your heart rate is a little high and your blood pressure is up." He looked up from his scan, "you're a little flushed. Nothing to worry about I'm sure, but I think I'd be happier if you sat down again."

"I'll be fine," said Kira, wishing that Macet would go away, taking his warm, strong, long fingered hands with him.

"Colonel, you made me listen to medical advice and now it's your turn," chided Macet.

She glowered at him; his voice was level enough to fool the Doctor, but she knew he was laughing at her.

He raised one brow ridge, "Of course, if you're determined to get to Ops, I could carry you," he continued.

Kira felt her flush flare from rosy to crimson. "You'll do no such thing!" She glared at him and suddenly realised he knew, she could see it in his eyes. He knew what his touch was doing to her and for once he was not backing away, or keeping his distance, he was enjoying himself at her expense.

He must have read the anger and distress in her face because his expression changed, becoming softer, almost apologetic, with a crooked, self depreciating smile that had her wanting to press her face to his chest, wrap her arms around his neck and just stand there, until she felt strong again.

"Alright," she said stiffly, tearing her eyes away. "I'll sit down for a little longer."

She allowed Macet to guide her back to her space on the floor, stubbornly refusing to look at him. "Thank you," she said, woodenly, as she resumed her spot.

"You're very welcome, I trust you will feel better soon," with that Macet walked away without a backwards glance.

Kira found herself watching him go, transfixed by the breadth of his shoulders in comparison to his narrow hips and his easy stride. The back of her neck started to prickle and she looked around; three Bajorans were sat on the floor behind her and there was enough resemblance between them to suggest that they were members of the same family. All of them were subjecting her to a hard, unforgiving stare. She opened her mouth to ask what their issue was, but the elder man looked pointedly from her face, to Macet's retreating back, to her face again. His mouth twisted into a sneer and he turned his back on her.

Kira's veins went cold.

* * *

After half an hour, Dr. Tarses discharged her from the makeshift ward in the Trager's cargo bay, while setting her mind at rest about Vedek Solis. The Vedek had managed to wiggle out from under the press of bodies and had been instrumental in Kira's being found quickly.

The return of the Orbs had not been a complete disaster, all but four of the wounded were released from the Infirmary in time for the signing ceremony and Dr Tarses arranged a large screen for those who had to stay in bed, including the old Bajoran lady that Kira had saved, as she recovered from her mild heart attack.

What Shaakar, or any of the Federation dignitaries had to say about it Kira never found out. She knew that Yevir was unrepentant and determined to go through with the exchange of religious personnel with Cardassia, because Ro had a security team with him at all times and Kira managed to read their reports between rushing though some work in her office and putting on her dress uniform for the signing. Yevir was telling everyone who would listen about his plans, loudly and at length and as there were plenty of people who wanted to listen he didn't stop talking until the signing ceremony began.

The ceremony went ahead as planned; Kira, never one to appreciate ten words when one would do, found herself tuning out Shakaar's long speech. She was highly aware of Macet's presence on the periphery of the ceremony, accompanying the Cardassian Cleric Ekosha of the Oralian Way. He didn't look in her direction once, unlike the Cleric, every time Kira looked that way her penetrating eyes were on Kira's face.

Hiziki Gard, a Trill, standing next to his Ambassador made a sudden movement. Kira turned to see what he was doing; he wasn't someone she'd had a lot to do with, but it seemed strange that anyone would draw attention to themselves in the middle of such a historic moment.

She realised she had something in his hand; Kira barely had time to open her mouth before Gard shot Shakaar in the neck and transported away.

There was bedlam as Kira ran to Shakaar and called for emergency transport. The last thing she saw, as she dematerialised, was Macet and Ro together, jumping between her and the gaping faces of the watching guests and dignitaries, their weapons pointed at the crowd.

* * *

In the Infirmary it was quickly confirmed, Shakaar was dead. Kira went straight from there to a meeting with the new First Minister of Bajor, Asarem Wadeen, where she was ordered to embark on the USS Gryphon to chase down Hiziki Gard, Shakaar's assassin.

Throughout it all, from the moment Dr Girani had let her have a few minutes alone with the man she had once loved, under her thoughts, like the theme tune to her actions, had been a buzz of white noise. She welcomed it like an old lover, remembering it fondly from her days in the resistance and from times after that. It was the blanket she hid her emotions under, when she had to do, but not feel.

So, when she walked out of her meeting with Asarem Wadeen and straight into Gul Macet, she wasn't grateful; with the uncertain state of her feelings, just his presence was enough to rip her control away.

"Not now," she tried to walk around him, but he stepped into her path.

"Nerys," he said, his voice both quiet and harsh at once. "I am sorry."

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him once, hard on the mouth, then jumped back. "There's a lot we need to talk about," she said, walking backwards and away from him. "About the Vandalism of Ziyal's art and other things that have happened while you were away. It's got very complicated, but I have to go, I have a mission." She stopped walking and tapped her comm. badge "Colonel Kira to the USS Gryphon, one to beam aboard."


	10. To thine own self be true

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira is back and wants to resolve things with Macet, nothing's ever easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Kira Nerys/Gul Macet fic, rated a cautions M for mild to moderate sexual activity, violence, and language. 
> 
> Set after the end of the series. Spoilers galore for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels. It's not beta'd (I re-read, edit and fiddle over and over) so any stuff ups are all mine.
> 
> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along. I am entering and especially busy period in real life but will do my best to keep up the pace.
> 
> I've covered enough of what happened in the novels to make sense of what's going on if you haven't read them and re-written a couple of scenes from a different perspective if I thought I needed to for clarity. All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing and the returned Orbs comes from the books which are well worth a read.

To thine own self be true

Kira commanded the helmsman to bring the ship into dock at Deep Space Nine, reminding him to follow the escorting Cardassian warship's instructions to the letter. Despite being warned in advance, it was still disconcerting to be escorted home, flanked on either side by the ships of an old enemy.

Her mission to recapture Hiziki Gard had on the face of it, been a failure, since Gard had never actually left Deep Space Nine. He had in fact remained hidden aboard the station, cheekily wedged in a space right above Ops.

In another, unexpected way the mission had been a success. The warp signature that had sent Kira barrelling in pursuit aboard the Gryphon had been laid to tempt the ship to Trill. Unbeknownst to Kira, the First Officer Commander Alejandro Montenegro had been infected by a Parasite known as a "Bluegill" that had taken over his body; by the time Kira came aboard the ship the real Commander Montenegro had been lost, his personality and will completely subverted and then destroyed by the parasite.

The identity of the infected person and their intentions had only become apparent towards the end of the journey when Montenegro tried to take over the ship, planning to open fire on Trill.

Stopping him had cost both he and Captain Elaine Mello their lives.

Kira had only known to look for this Parasite because of an encrypted message sent to her by Admiral Akaar of Starfleet, arriving back at Deep Space Nine she owed her calm acceptance of the Cardassian escort to a later, typically blunt message from her friend, General Lenaris Holem of the Bajoran Militia, that read "Cardassians immune to infection, all Cardassian ships and personnel that can be spared on way to station. Keep your finger off the trigger."

Kira walked straight off the Gryphon and into a medical check conducted by a Cardassian medic who introduced herself as Vlu. The rest of the Gryphon's crew were ordered to stay put until they could be checked and other Cardassian medics went aboard, escorted by more than usually grim Cardassian troops.

While she was being examined Kira looked around, hoping to be greeted by one, particular Cardassian, but there was no sign of Gul Macet anywhere. She was disappointed but not offended; a long life in the Military and before that the resistance had taught her that duty often interfered with personal interests, it wasn't as if they were actually lovers, just two people who'd been tentatively dancing around the idea.

"You're clear Colonel," said Vlu, having thoroughly poked around the back of Kira's neck and subjected her to a full body scan. "Admiral Akaar's compliments, would you join him in the Wardroom for a debriefing."

In addition to Admiral L.J. Akaar of Starfleet, Kira's de-briefing was attended by General Lenaris. Akaar invited Kira to give her report first and she detailed everything that had happened aboard the Gryphon, right until the moment the ship had docked at Deep Space Nine.

"Thank you Colonel," acknowledged the Admiral. "Now, let me bring you up to speed with events on the Station." He shifted in his seat and Kira heard it creak in protest, it occurred to her that Akaar's sheer size might have a lot to do with his grumpy nature; it must be tedious living in a world where every thing was just that bit too small.

"As you know from my encrypted communication we became aware of the Parasites presence when Isoboramine, the neurotransmitter that allows a symbiote to integrate with its host was discovered in First Minister Shakaar's wound. As you are  _now_  aware there was an incursion of these Parasites into Starfleet Command some twelve years ago. We challenged Shakaar's assassin Hiziki Gard with what we knew and he confirmed our worse fears. Not only had Shakaar been infected with a parasite for months, but there were certainly other infected persons at large, including one aboard the Gryphon and almost certainly more on Bajor."

Akaar pressed his palms flat on the conference table, spreading his fingers wide and regarding them solemnly, "We now know that there was at least one Parasite loose on the Station. Three nights ago Gul Macet was discovered, collapsed in a corridor in the Habitat ring. He was transferred immediately to the Infirmary, where it was confirmed that he was infected..." Akaar paused in his recitation, looking up and frowning, "You have a question Colonel?"

Kira forced herself to breath normally; she supposed she'd made some convulsive movement that had caught Akaar's attention. "A cramp, I'm sorry," she shifted in her seat to give some weight to the idea she was uncomfortable. "You were saying Admiral."

"Hmm," Akaar's eyes dropped back to his fingers, "Fortunately the Parasite failed to take hold, by the time Dr Girani had Macet on the bio bed the Parasite was dead and was easily removed. Macet was back to full health in twenty hours.

Kira felt herself relax a little.

"It seems that Cardassian's have something about them that the Parasites can't stomach," said General Lenaris, he looked across at Kira with an almost spiteful amusement, as if he thought she would share his humour. She knew that he still maintained the common Bajoran prejudice against all Cardassians, not to the point of wanting to do them actual violence, at least not without provocation, but he held on to his general distrust and cynicism about their motives as if it was a badge of honour. It was understandable, but frustrating; no wonder Shakaar, under the influence of the Parasite, had been able to block the peace talks without anyone but Kira truly protesting.

"Gul Macet has been invaluable in finding Cardassian ships and men to help us," said Admiral Akaar, repressively. "But there simply aren't enough Cardassians to go around, they're doing what they can to provide a blockade for the Station, but we need to get more teams down to Bajor, to track the civilians who left the station in the immediate aftermath of Shakaar's assassination.

"So what next?" asked Kira.

Admiral Akaar opened his mouth but General Lenaris jumped in ahead of him, "I want you to go get something to eat, get yourself up to speed with the new reports and then attend the strategy meeting in four hours." He turned to Akaar, "You agree Admiral?"

"That seems sensible," said Akaar, grudgingly.

Lenaris nodded, turning back to Kira he looked her up and down, "If you can fit a nap into that schedule, I'd strongly suggest it," he said, kindly.

"I'll see what I can do," said Kira, with a wry smile.

"I bet you will," said the General, knowingly.

* * *

In the end Kira sacrificed a possible hour of sleep to go in search of Gul Macet, partly because she wanted to see with her own eyes that he'd recovered from his experience with the Parasite, but equally because things had been left hanging between them since she'd left on the Gryphon and as she'd kissed him, right before she left, she couldn't fool him, never mind herself about her attraction to him. What she didn't know for sure was what, if anything, he wanted to do about it and until she did, she couldn't make any sensible decisions.

Feeling that she didn't want to feed any gossip, Kira purposely found an empty stretch of corridor and approached the computer interface set in the wall. She made an enquiry about Gul Macet's location and the computer directed her to some quarters in the Habitat ring, which surprised her. Macet had stubbornly lived aboard his ship, The Trager, even when it's malfunctioning replicators and environment controls had threatened his health. The computer listed his length of residence as two days and she wondered if he'd move in to please the Doctor after his release from the Infirmary, knowing Macet, he'd probably insisted on leaving before the Doctor was ready to let him go.

It took less than ten minutes to reach his door; during the walk she tried to rehearse what she was going to say, but the words just tangled up in her head, so she gave up. When she reached his quarters she took a deep breath and pressed the chime, noting gratefully that there was no Cardassian guard on duty outside.

She heard him call "Come," and activated the door, trying to push down the grass vipers in her stomach.

Macet was sitting in the window, wearing a loose pair of Civilian trousers and nothing else, sipping from a cup of red leaf tea. The grass vipers went berserk and not wanting to look at his bare torso, she found herself staring instead at his long, elegant feet.

"Hello Macet."

He put his tea cup down on a nearby table, "Colonel, what a  _pleasure_."

She'd psyched herself up to talk about the kiss, but his tone made her pause. There was something off,  _wrong_  about it. "I," she swallowed and squared her shoulders, "I heard about the Parasite," she tilted her head to one side, examining him anxiously, "how are you feeling?"

"I've never felt better," he slid from his seat in the window frame and sauntered towards her, fixing his eyes on hers, "but I don't think you came just to ask after my health, did you?"

Her sense of wrongness deepened, his voice was smooth, almost drawling and there was something overdone, theatrical about his tone which reminded her unpleasantly of encounters with his cousin. "No," she said, warily. "There are some things we need to talk about." She realised that he was still coming towards her and had to resist the urge to step back. "We think we found the Force Field Bubble Device."

"Oh I know," he finally stopped when they were almost touching; looking down at her with a strange, over wide smile. "Admiral Akaar was kind enough to fill me in while I was recovering from my meeting with the Parasite. It was a shame about Gila, but she made her choice, shame she couldn't live with it," his grin stretched wider still, showing too many teeth. He raised a hand and hovered his cupped palm over her cheek, as if he was going to caress it, but his eyes dragged down her neck and over her body.

She leaned away a little, "What are you doing," she said, not trying to keep the distaste off her face or out of her voice. He was wearing some kind of thick, cloying cologne, she'd never noticed on him before, it made her nose itch and her throat burn.

"What you want me to," he trailed his fingers down her arm and she was  _amazed_  at how revolting it felt.

She pushed his hand away, "I didn't say you could touch me."

He stepped back, laughing, "Oh Colonel, you didn't ask my permission when you kissed me. It was very bold of you and  _such_  a breach of protocol," his eyes slid up and down her body, making her feel naked and almost slimy.

"I'm sorry," she said, through gritted teeth. "I won't do it again." He'd spoken the literal truth, though he'd admitted his attraction to her days before he'd never touched her in a sexual or romantic way, and hadn't made any other move since, other than what she'd taken for a little gentle teasing in the Trager's cargo bay. She'd thought that Ro had given her a reasonable, cultural explanation for his unwillingness to pursue her and had been willing to see if it could be overcome, but now she felt foolish and wrong footed.

Macet put his hands on his hips, stretching the skin between the ridges on his chest and emphasising his pectoral muscles. "Never say never Colonel, kisses are poor things compared to some of the things I could do to you." His eyes drifted downwards again and he stepped closer, raising one hand to lace his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck. "Why do you think your mother stayed with Dukat for so long?" he asked, idly, his lips hovering over hers.

With a nauseated noise she shoved him away, "What's got into you?" she jabbed a finger in the general direction of his head, "did they leave some of the Parasite in there?"

He was laughing as he staggered back and it was a poisonous, mocking sound. "Oh, nothing's got into me Nerys. I though I might get into  _you,_  but obviously I was wrong," he looked her up and down once more, "You're just as  _dull_  as all the other Bajorans, so pious and worthy and  _passionless_. He turned away and dropped into a chair, slinging one leg over the arm. "I thought," he said, conversationally, "it would be entertaining to have something my cousin wanted and never got, but you're so boringly virtuous, I can't be bothered to chase you anymore. No woman; especially a Bajoran could be worth this much effort." He picked up a piece of fruit she didn't recognise from a bowl and bit into it."Now, a Cardassian woman," he said, waving a finger in the air, like he was conducting his own words, "knows what she wants. There's a medic, just arrived from Cardassia, what was her name," he cocked his head to one side and frowned as if he was trying to remember, "Vlu that was it. She's just starting in her career, I'm sure she wouldn't think twice about accepting my, how shall we say it," he grinned lasciviously at her, "support and guidance."

She glared at him, cold with fury, "So, this was just some stupid game."

Macet smile widened, his gums and the gaps between his teeth were purple red with the pulp of the fruit and it made his mouth look bloody. "There are no stupid games Colonel." He spread his arms, as if showing himself to her for the first time, "I am what I am, and pretending otherwise has been wearisome."

She spun on her heel and strode for the door, her shoulders up round her ears and her hands bunched into fists.

"Colonel," Macet called after her.

She stopped, fingers clenching and releasing, remembering the time she'd opened a Cardassian's throat with her bare hands, "What?"

"See you at the strategy meeting," he said, silkily.

His raucous, mocking laughter followed her out of the door.

* * *

Kira walked through the corridors of the Habitat ring, working on her breathing and using meditative techniques to try and still her racing thoughts. She had a little less than forty five minutes before she was expected to be at the strategy meeting and she was going to have to face Macet across the table without killing him.

As her breathing and heart rate slowed she found it easier to think and her pace slackened, until she ground to a halt, frowning, halfway between on step and another. Eventually gravity won and her hovering foot came down awkwardly, twisting her ankle.

The slight pain seemed to wake her up, she started walking again, making for the replimat where she ordered a raktajino and sat down. She didn't drink it, but held the cup in both hands, watching the steam curl into the air, still frowning.

"Hello Colonel."

The voice made her jump, "Ro, how are you," she tried to smile, but the muscles required seemed to be too tired.

The Security Chief dropped into the opposite chair, "About the same as you by the looks of it, I think the shadows under your eyes might be a touch darker."

Kira gave a mirthless chuckle, "Too close to call." She slumped, the frown settling back on her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"What?" Kira looked up with a befuddled expression, "No!" she felt herself flush, "I mean, talk about what?"

"Well, I could guess, but it might be better if you told me," said Ro, kindly.

Kira sat back, regarding her warily; her Security Chief was giving her a very  _knowing_  look. She recalled the two instances when Ro had made it clear, however obliquely, that she knew something was going on between Kira and Macet. If she trusted Ro, it seemed pointless to keep denying it. "Aside from the threat of Parasites taking over the quadrant and my still being banished from the Temples," she shrugged, "it's Macet." She tried her best to keep her tone light, but her voice cracked a little and the sympathy in Ro's expression made it obvious that she hadn't hidden anything. "Why aren't you  _surprised_ ," she asked irritably, "I can understand you spotting his interest in me before I did, but how did you know I was interested in him when  _I_  hadn't even figured it out for myself?"

"Well," Ro gave her an apologetic smile, "when I warned you about Macet's interest in you, however long ago that was, what, Days? I thought the interest wasn't entirely one way."

Kira froze into a statue entitled "Bajoran woman with mug", "What?" she said finally, once she'd managed to relax her facial muscles.

"It was just a hint," said Ro, apologetically, "You tuned out of the meeting a couple of times, but only after he'd spoken and your body language was conflicted, as if you were pulling towards and away at the same time. Then there was your reaction when you found out he was ill... anyway, are things not going well?"

"You could say that," said Kira, through gritted teeth, "Whatever you saw it seems it  _was_  one sided," she tried to make her voice indifferent, but she could hear the bitterness in her tone. "He's just told me it was all some stupid game to get back at his cousin, his _dead_ cousin, for seducing his wife; he wanted to see if he could seduce me in return because Dukat told him he wanted me."

Ro looked puzzled, " _When_  did he say this?"

"Just now, about fifteen minutes ago." Kira sat up straight and gave Ro a quizzical look, "What does it matter when he said it?"

Ro's puzzlement changed to a scowl, "Right after you left on the Gryphon," she said, her tone a little distant, as if she was assembling her thoughts, "I started hearing complaints about Macet, not formal complaints, but you remember the engineering team who fixed up his replicators? They're still stuck here because of the lock down; anyway, I heard a Lieutenant in Commander Fujiwara's team say the Commander was steaming because she offered to go back and have her team do some more work, but Macet told her he wasn't letting spies back onto his ship."

Kira gaped at her, "That's, that's just  _stupid_ , there's nothing on his ship that we don't know about. It doesn't make sense."

"I know," Ro nodded, "but that's not all, in the last few days Macet has had an argument with the Kilingon Chef because he said the Krada legs were replicated, with Quark because the sky over Cardassia Prime in the holo programme he ordered wasn't quite the right shade of pollution soaked pink and with Dr. Tarses because the Doctor is genuinely worried that being infected with a Parasite has permanently changed the Gul's personality."

"I think I agree with the Doctor," said Kira with conviction.

"I'm not so sure," Ro made a "tah dah" gesture with her finger, "This started after Macet had a meeting with General Lenaris, right after you left  _and_  before he got infected."

"So?" Kira couldn't see the connection. "He and the General must have lots of meetings,"

"Alone, in the General's quarters? A short, but very heated meeting according to passers by who heard the shouting? Though not what was said, sadly."

Kira shook her head, still not understanding what Ro was trying to say, "I don't get it, what do you think Lenaris did or said?"

"I think he warned Macet off, I think," she continued, pragmatically, in the face of Kira's incredulity, "I think he wants you to be the figurehead of the Ohalavar and a Cardassian lover, closely related to the leader of the Pah Wraith cult who tried to mass murder his Bajoran followers, including his own baby son, on  _top_  of being the Butcher of Bajor, that isn't the image he wants for his figurehead."

Kira shook her head at Ro, "This is ridiculous," she said uncertainly.

"Is it?" insisted Ro. "Something happened to make Macet behave that way, I mean, what better way to make sure you won't go near him again? He must have said some horrible things because you looked devastated when I arrived." Ro leaned forward, "It could be the Parasite, but I really think it was the General. All he'd have to say is that a relationship between you two would be the end off your career, or that you'd never get back into the Temples; Macet's just the sort of honourable idiot who'd fall for that." She stood up, "The few times I saw you and Macet close together, body language doesn't lie," she grinned wickedly, "the man's nuts about you."

Kira stared into the middle distance, her thoughts a confused mess. Finally, she shook herself and stood up, "It doesn't matter."

Ro gave her a sceptical look.

"I mean it doesn't matter right now," said Kira impatiently, "whatever is going on with him," she dropped her eyes, "and me, is going to have to wait until we've got this crisis under control. Come on," she said, in a more business like tone, "I assume you're going to the strategy meeting."

"Wouldn't miss it, I'll be watching your boyfriend's body language while Akaar talks us all to sleep."

"Hah!" Kira took a couple of steps and then stopped, setting her jaw and clenching her hands into fists, "If this is true, then for a smart man, Macet is an  _idiot_."

"Yep," said Ro cheerfully, indicating that Kira should lead the way, "talk to me about it, I'm dating Quark remember. At least Macet's a  _noble_  idiot."


	11. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Politics and religion try to interfere in Kira's life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along. I am entering and especially busy period in real life but will do my best to keep up the pace.
> 
> I've covered enough of what happened in the novels to make sense of what's going on if you haven't read them and re-written a couple of scenes from a different perspective if I thought I needed to. All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing and the returned Orbs comes from the books.
> 
> Oddly, the title for this chapter is a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, go figure.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you...

Kira allowed herself the time it took to walk to the Wardroom to consider what Ro had said and try to integrate it with her own thoughts.

Macet was not the man he had portrayed his quarters, she was sure of it; there had been no previous sign of sexual aggression or interest in pursuing casual conquests. He'd even resisted Trier's advances, and Kira didn't think that he could have maintained the facade for so long. Dukat had always cracked in the end.

There had to be a reason for his change in behaviour. On the face of it Ro's favoured theory seemed ridiculous, but Kira supposed it was possible. However, Kira thought that it was more likely that the parasite had affected Macet's personality and decided to go and see Dr Tarses after the meeting.

She reached the door of the Wardroom with these thoughts revolving around her head and - as the doors opened - she shoved them in the compartment in her mind marked "Macet" and focused on the task at hand.

Macet was not in the room. However, Admiral Akaar was seated at the head of the long table, reading from one Padd, with others scattered about him on the table top.

General Lenairs was at the replicator. He turned as she came in and smiled and nodded in welcome, then carried the mug he was holding over to Taulin Cyl, a General from the Trill Military, who'd hitched a lift from Trill on the Gryphon.

There were other Officers present - some Bajoran Militia and some Starfleet - standing in ones and twos, waiting for the Senior Officers to sit down.

Kira took the space next to Admiral Akaar and Ro dropped into the next door seat, which placed them opposite Lenaris' chair, if the pile of old fashioned Bajoran data Padds was anything to go by.

The Wardroom doors shushed open and Kira would have known it was Macet, even if she hadn't been able to see his reflection in the window, because of the way Ro's muscles tensed. She glanced in his direction, intending to give him the proper courtesy, even if it was just a nod, but he was not looking her way. She watched as he found himself a seat, as far as possible from her end of the table. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, fixing his eyes on the table top with an almost sullen expression.

Kira made herself look away and found herself looking at General Lenaris instead. She opened her mouth, intending to make some small talk about his Niece who'd studied art at the same University as Tora Ziyal, but the words shrivelled on her tongue as she caught sight of his expression; it was the same, spiteful amusement she'd seen on his face when he'd discussed the Cardassian's resistance to the Parasites.

The General must have realised she was looking because he turned her way and morphed his smirk into a friendly smile, that didn't reach his eyes. She gave him a long, questioning look and he raised an eyebrow and coughed, busying himself with his Padds as if nothing had happened.

Kira's eyes involuntarily went back to Macet; she found the Gul glaring at the General with such a look of fury and disgust, it made her heart sink. Ro was at least partially right; something was going on between Macet and Lenaris, even if it had nothing to do with her.

It wasn't the time to deal with it. Admiral Akaar called the meeting to order, which went as well as could be expected. Taulin Cyl provided some background on his planet's encounters with the Parasite and what was known about their biology, which didn't seem to be much. Kira had the feeling that Cyl was holding back and, not for the first time, she wished that Ezri Dax had returned from the Defiant's three month mission to the Gamma Quadrant.

Whatever Cyl was hiding, provisional plans were agreed for setting up screening stations on Bajor, utilising Cardassian Medics and troops, supported, and if necessary protected, by Bajoran Militia and Starfleet Officers.

There was considerable discussion regarding how much, if anything, the civilian population should be told. Finally they agreed to stick to the current cover story of a new, highly infectious virus.

Throughout the meeting Macet spoke only when spoken to and responded with the minimum of curt civility.

With a workable framework of plans, the meeting broke up and Kira was unsurprised when Macet walked straight out the door, without a backwards glance or a farewell to anyone at the table.

"That's one very angry, embarrassed _and_ ashamed Cardassian," muttered Ro, in Kira's ear as they got up.

Kira frowned and shook her head at her, not because she didn't believe her, but because it was the wrong time and place.

"Colonel," General Lenaris called across the table, "I'll be leaving for Bajor in the morning. I'd like to introduce you to my two Lieutenants. One or other of them will be here to act as my Liaison whenever I'm not on the station."

Two members of the Bajoran Militia stepped forward. Kira hadn't particularly noticed them during the meeting, their purpose seemed to be taking notes and passing the General whatever he asked for. Determined, for the moment, to be polite, she walked around the table and nodded to the two men.

"This is Calas Jiffrin," the General indicated the man on his right "and this is Ziddrey Borl," he indicated the man on his left.

Both Lieutenants gave Kira a wide smile.

An odd noise made Kira look round; Ro, on the other side of the table, had covered her mouth with her hand and seemed to be in the middle of a coughing fit. Kira frowned at her and turned back to say some polite words of welcome; both men seemed pleasant enough and General Lenaris didn't tolerate fools any more than she did, so she was sure they'd be effective in their roles.

"Actually I was hoping to have some time to talk to you," she said to Lenaris.

The General pursed his lips and shook his head, looking regretful, but his expression gave Kira the same sense of theatre as Macet's whole act of that morning. "I'm sorry, I don't have a moment to call my own between now and when I leave tomorrow; anything you need contact Calas and Ziddrey."

Kira kept her eyes on his, quietly communicating her disbelief. The General met her gaze blandly, giving nothing away, but eventually his eyes shifted under hers and Kira, satisfied, turned on her heel and left the meeting

"Did you like your presents?"

"What?" Kira scowled at Ro, who'd actually made her jump by lurking outside the Wardroom, waiting for her.

"Your presents - the two pretty young men General Lenaris brought for you."

"They're his aides," Kira said, impatiently. Whatever idiotic games the General was playing he'd hardly be throwing potential suitors at her. She tried to recall the two Lieutenants faces to mind, she didn't suppose either of them were even thirty years old.

"Bet you half a strip of Latinum they both ask you out before dinner time."

"Don't be ridiculous."

* * *

Kira was in her Office, having just cut communication with Starbase 375 - who were acting as a marshalling point for personnel heading straight to Bajor to staff the screening posts - when her door shushed open without warning. She looked up and mentally cursed herself for forgetting to engage the privacy lock.

Ziddrey Borl was standing on her doorstep, "I apologise for interrupting you, but the General would like the medical supplies report and the supplementary information from Starfleet Medical."

"Just a moment," Kira scanned the surface of her desk for the right Padd. She found it under another report on the potential use of security force fields to quarantine infected persons, should the available stasis pods in the Infirmary become full. She held it out, "Here you go. If you need anything else just message me and flag it high priority; I doubt I'll move from my desk for the next few hours, and it'll save you walking over here every time the General has a question."

"Thank you, but I was thinking," he stepped into the room, with a wide, charming smile. "Rather than bother you with lots of messages, perhaps I could review the report with you over a drink at the Replimat?"

Kira looked up at him, he was actually quite beautiful, with the physique of a statue topped with dark, wavy hair and melting brown eyes. She leaned back in her chair, her eyebrows raised. "I'm sorry," she said, politely but firmly. "I don't have the time; just send me a message if you have any questions." She straightened and picked up her Padd, making it clear he was dismissed.

"Another time perhaps," said Ziddrey, his ingratiating smile wobbling a tiny bit.

Kira looked up and gave him an answering, wide and very fake smile, "Perhaps." She returned her attention back to her Padd.

Ziddrey nodded awkwardly and left. As soon as he disappeared down the stairs and her door shut behind him, Kira dropped the Padd on the table and her face into her hands, not knowing whether to laugh or throw something. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, "How old is he, twenty five?" she asked herself. "One down, one to go," she chuckled at the thought, not really believing it as she got back to work.

Ro would have lost her bet, there was no sign of Calas before dinner; instead, she bumped into him in the corridors of the habitat ring, just before midnight, on the way to her quarters for a sonic shower, a snack and a change of uniform in lieu of sleep.

"Colonel," Calas nodded civilly. He didn't have Ziddrey's beauty or charming smile, but he projected a rugged masculinity very different from Ziddrey's classical good looks. "Will anything still be open on the Promenade? I haven't adjusted to station time, can't sleep."

"Try Quarks," said Kira, coolly. "Ask him for a hot toddy - it's a human thing - but I'm told it works." She nodded and started to walk past him.

Calas held out a hand, as if to catch her arm, but had the good sense not to touch her. He snapped it back to his side at her pointed glare.

"I'm sorry, I was just wondering if you wanted to join me," he said, gruffly, suddenly looking more like a shambling and overgrown hara cat kitten than a grown man.

Kira stood there for a moment, breathing in and out slowly through her nose. "I'm sorry, no. Is General Lenaris still awake?"

Calas looked puzzled, "I would imagine so, he doesn't sleep much."

"Very few people who were in the Resistance do, you're just too young to know it." She gave him an icy nod and walked on, past her own door. Five minutes brought her to General Lenaris' quarters. He opened the door personally to her chime and she would have been amused by the phaser in his hand if she hadn't been so angry. "What the  _ **denai rentim**_  do you think you're up to?" she hissed in his face.

Lenaris looked up and down the corridor, "You'd better come in." He withdrew into his quarters, making it clear that he expected her to follow, and walked over to the dining area, where he placed his Phaser on the table. "Tell me what you think I've done."

Kira stood there, trying to form words, her muscles trembling with anger and the desire to kick him through the window. "What do you think I am, some prize pylchyk you can put out to stud?"

Lenaris sighed, "I'd hoped they'd be more subtle." He raised a hand, "Of course I wasn't putting you out to stud, I was trying to provide you with a  _diversion_ ," he said, as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world.

"Oh!" Kira threw her hands in the air, "There's a name for that, an ugly one," she said, in a nauseated tone.

"Don't be ridiculous Colonel;" said Lenaris, testily. "I didn't  _pay_  them. You're an attractive, experienced woman; they were quite enthusiastic."

She gaped at him, "Oh Prophets," she felt the bile rise in her throat. "Do you hear yourself?" she turned and paced angrily. "How could you think that I, -" she made a growling noise.

The General sank tiredly into a chair. "As I tried to tell you before Shakaar died, whether you like it or not, you are a crucial player in Bajor's future. You have a responsibility to fulfil your role as the bringer of the Ohalu prophecies to the Bajorans, with the proper dignity. However much Vedek Solis may be revered, the movement will not gain its full potential without your public support."

She stared at him incredulously, "And you thought you could convince me to be your dignified figurehead by - what?" a crude and ancient Terran phrase Dr. Julian Bashir had once jokingly used in her presence popped into her mind, "getting me  _laid_?"

"If that means what I think it means, then no, not exactly."

"Then  _what_ , exactly? Because handing me a young lover on a plate doesn't seem that dignified to me!"

The General sighed again, "Your recent behaviour suggests that you are lonely. I wanted to give you some  _appropriate_  options," he said, in a reasonable tone.

"Appropriate," Kira echoed. She turned and paced around the room again, her fingers clenching and releasing. "I didn't believe it," she said bitterly, more to herself than him. She turned and faced him again. "What did you do?"

"You'll have to be more specific," said Lenaris, unruffled.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MACET?" she bellowed.

He didn't flinch, just looked at her with his maddeningly calm expression, as if he was humouring a child having a tantrum. "I didn't  _do_  anything to him; I just made it clear that neither of your futures would be best served by continuing with this ridiculous flirtation."

Her head snapped back, as if he'd hit her. "Neither of our futures? What did you threaten him with?"

Lenaris shrugged, "I don't think I threatened him, I just made the realities of the situation clear. I have a lot of influence, perhaps more than you realise. Now that Bajor's entry into the Federation has been delayed, perhaps permanently, Macet needs to keep those who may be involved in the Peace negotiations happy."

"So, you told him you'd prevent the peace process from starting again, if Macet and I had a relationship?" Kira stared at him at him, appalled.

"Essentially." Lenaris shrugged again, "I also pointed out that the effect on your career and religious life would be catastrophic. I'm not sure which  _reality_  upset him the most, if it's any consolation."

"I don't believe you," Kira said bitterly. "Children are  _starving_  on Cardassia and you'd use them like pawns."

"Children starved on Bajor under the Cardassians Colonel, sometimes in retaliation for our terrorist acts. But we did the right thing; no matter what it cost us, or the Bajoran people."

She turned away and started pacing again, not wanting to look at him. "We were fighting for our  _freedom;_  they're just asking for resources to feed their people and treat their sick."

"And we will help them," said Lenaris, rationally. "As long as Macet ensures his superiors help with the parasite crisis and as long as he leaves you alone." He stepped forwards, catching her as she turned, grasping her elbows and giving them a gentle shake. "The Ohalavaru needs you; the  _you_  that you are now. The faithful lover of Bariel and Shakaar, who only gave Shakaar up because the Prophets spoke to you at the Kenda shrine and told you were not meant to walk your paths together. We can gloss over the dalliance with the Founder; at least he was on our side. But a  _Cardassian_ and the cousin of Gul Dukat? This is not the path you are supposed to walk Kira, the truth giver of Ohalu's prophecies; the woman who has always put Bajor's needs before her own."

He squeezed her arms, looking down at her almost paternally. "I'm sorry, I can see that this has hurt you. It's my fault, I thought that if he treated you badly, that you'd have too much pride to go near him again."

Kira gaped at him, lost for words to describe how wrong everything he said and thought was; she wrenched herself away and drew herself up, squaring her shoulders and punctuating her words with finger jabs in his direction. "I am going to go and see Macet, I want to hear that this is  _his_  decision, in  _his_  own words and you will not punish him or the Cardassian people for it. After that," she gave him a revolted look, "We will do what's right, whether it's what you want or not."

"I will not allow you to threaten Bajor's future Colonel," said Lenaris, with a stern look. "If I have to discredit you I will."

"How, and what will that do to your precious Ohalavaru? If you discredit me, you discredit yourselves," she spat.

Lenaris smiled unpleasantly, "There is always a way. I'm sure we could arrange evidence that you weren't actually the one to publish the prophecies, that you were covering for someone not so enthusiastic about the spotlight. There are already enough Bajorans who believe that you're power hungry and dangerous." He stepped back and gestured to the door. "I can afford be generous, go and see Macet and say goodbye in whatever way you wish, I'll give you that, just be discrete."

* * *

Kira found herself outside General Lenaris' quarters without remembering how she'd got there; she looked down at her fingers and saw that they were shaking, so she clenched her hands and took a deep breath, trying to think clearly. She checked the chronometer on the nearest computer interface panel; it was a little past midnight, and then, without analysing her decision, she checked Macet's location and turned in the direction of Macet's new quarters, walking there at full speed.

At that moment she didn't care if this was not "being discrete"; Lenaris could burn in the Fire Caves for all she cared. She wasn't even sure what she was going to do when she saw Macet, she just  _needed_  to see him.

Odo popped into her mind for a moment, but she gently pushed him out of her thoughts. He would understand, she knew it, and when this crisis was over she would take some leave and travel into the Gamma Quadrant to see him, even if it was just to say goodbye. If nothing else, recent events had taught her that she couldn't continue in this seemingly, endless limbo.

Once she got to Macet's door, she practically punched the door chime. With a strange symmetry, Macet didn't call her in, just like Lenaris he came to the door clutching his own, hand held Phaser, and if the situation had been so infuriating, Kira would have laughed.

When he saw who it was he screwed his eyes shut, as if that would make her go away. "Colonel, you shouldn't  _be_  here," he snarled.

"Oh, I have permission, from Lenaris," she replied, in a biting, sarcastic whisper. "I'm coming in; so, get out of my way, or I will  _get_  you out of my way."

He made a noise, somewhere between a hiss and a growl, but stepped back to let her in.

"How dare you make deals about me, as if I'm some piece of property. I make my own decisions!" she barked, barely letting the door close behind her.

"This isn't just about you," he snapped back. "There is a good chance that Bajor will never join the Federation. Cardassia needs your government to agree to provide relief; the Federation simply can't get enough resources here quick enough."

"Oh, Lenaris told me about the threat he has hanging over you. Do you think he'll fulfill his promises when he's done? He doesn't care if your whole planet starves. He'd be glad of it."

"I can't risk it," he grabbed her arms, just had Lenaris had. "I can't risk the future of my whole world for what? A woman who isn't even sure if she cares for me? Even if you did, even if this was the greatest love Cardassia and Bajor have ever known, at least six children have died, just in the time we've been talking." He let her go and spun away, ending up in front of the window, his back to her.

She watched his shoulders heave; Kira closed her eyes and took some deep, slow breaths. "Do you see me as untouchable?" she asked, out of nowhere.

"What?" Macet looked over his shoulder, shocked out of his anger. "What are you talking about?"

Kira sunk into a chair, suddenly exhausted. "Ro said that Cardassians see other species as untouchable, like women from a lower caste on Cardassia, someone you keep your distance from, if you respect them, to protect their reputation."

He turned fully around to face her, frowning, "It's an old tradition and a lot of Cardassians still think that way. What made you think I did?"

She raked her fingers through her hair and then leaned back. "After we talked in my office, I..." she paused, flushing slightly, "I got interested in you too," she hugged herself from embarrassment. "Apparently I didn't hide it well, except from myself, so I don't understand why you didn't make another move."

"You'd told me that you still loved Odo and -," he stood up straight and turned his hands at the wrists, showing her his empty palms. "How could you believe I thought you were beneath me? Do you realise how little I have to offer? I'm career military, they promoted me this far because I'm a good Soldier, a decent leader and my mother was a Dukat, but I'm  _never_  going to rise any further." He dropped his hands to his sides, "What little I had on Cardassia was lost when the Dominion turned on us. My wife lives with her lover, even though it makes her a social outcast, because our house is ashes and it's that or live on the streets. She  _does_  care about these things." He took a step towards her, "I own two sets of uniform, my boots, one civilian shirt and one civilian pair of trousers, all of which could do with cutting up for rags. I have  _nothing_  to offer you."

"Except yourself," said Kira, softly, "and that's all I'd want."

He shook his head at her, "My parents brought me up to be different, to think differently from other Cardassians. Do you know they refused to put me through the mental conditioning that give Cardassian children an eidetic memory? They wanted me to stay out of the Military; they wanted me to educate myself, not have it forced into my brain. They wanted me to think about other people before I thought about the State, they wanted me to marry someone I loved." His expression became sad, almost ashamed, "As a young man I found them embarrassing; I didn't want to be different, so when I was old enough I joined the Military and turned myself into the perfect little Soldier. Then, I went out and found myself the perfect Cardassian wife, someone who only married me for my family name and my future prospects." He shook his head, sneering at his younger self. "She told me on the night of our wedding that she didn't expect me back in her bed until I was a Glinn and had completely cut contact with my parents. Then, and only then, would she give me the children I longed for. I've hardly seen her since. I've spent more time on Cardassia these last few months than I have in the last thirty years."

He took another step towards her. "I betrayed my parents when I was stupid and young and arrogant and I've spent the rest of my life trying to live by their principles as best I can. I won't ruin your life, or threaten my people's future just because I want -," he stood there, obviously unable to explain himself any further.

She got up and closed the distance between them, step by step, giving him a chance to back away if he wanted to, but he stood his ground, looking down at her with a wistful expression, as if he didn't quite believe she was real. They stood there, almost touching, like some twisted mirror, both tense, both with their hands clenched into fists, neither moving forward or back. Kira finally,  _tentatively,_  raised her hand, pushing her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, just like he'd done with her the day before and tugged, raking his scalp a little with her nails.

He hissed and his pupils, already dilated, became so wide that his blue eyes almost turned black. "That hurts you know."

"Does it," she cocked her head on one side, her eyes on his mouth.

He tried, half heartedly to pull away. "We can't do this," he said, without conviction.

"We can tonight," said Kira, "Lenaris _thinks_ he gave us that much." Her eyes focused on his pulse point, just under the spot where his neck ridge joined his ear, "Let him think he's won." She watched the accelerating  _bump-bump-bump_  of Macet's heartbeat and raised herself up on her toes.

She gave him a tiny, experimental, nip, just on his neck ridge, right above the point where his pulse was now hammering. He responded with a low growl that rumbled through his whole body and across her skin, shaking her right down to the bones.

Together they pulled themselves, and each other, out of their clothes and scattered them across the floor.

* * *

At some point later, they moved to the bed, where Kira lay, enjoying the afterglow and the solid, warm weight of someone lying beside her. It was different from her times with Odo, but she refused to feel regretful; one way or another there would be enough things to regret in the morning.

She'd come to rest draped half across his body; her ear pressed more to his belly than his chest. She discovered, to her amusement, that his stomach growled and gurgled just like a Bajorans.

"What are you laughing at Nerys?"

She lifted her head to look at him, "Your stomach is talking to me."

He wiggled contentedly, which she found ridiculously endearing. "I'm hungry."

"I could eat." She looked through the opening that gave access to the living area; the replicator was lit up and functional, which couldn't be relied on in some of the outlying areas of the Station. "Shall we get some food?"

He curled a finger through her hair, "In a minute if you don't mind, I'm comfortable." The finger slipped from her hair and tentatively stroked her shoulder. "You're so soft," he said thoughtfully, as if it was a revelation, "I don't mean weak," he explained. "It's just different, from what I'm used to."

She propped her chin on her hand, "Hadn't you noticed before?"

He grinned, "I think I've mentioned, I've never done this with a Bajoran. Our skins are tougher, then there's the scales." His hand carefully stroked down her back, "I was a little worried I'd scratch or bruise you," he frowned as he considered the possibility.

She smiled at him, reassuringly. "You probably have, Bajorans scratch and bruise each other sometimes, not intentionally as a rule," she laughed at his raised eye ridge. "I'd tell you if anything was too much, don't worry." The drift of his palm up and down her spine sent warm circles radiating outwards, making her shiver. Her eyes and hand wandered downwards, intending to explore, but after a minute or two they forgot about eating and she threw one leg across his body, sliding them together, one into the other. She started slow and lazy, easy little rolls of her hips against his quivering, taut muscles.

"Is this enough?" she gasped as her body started the long, leisurely, ripple towards its own ends. Their first time had been very uncomplicated and explosive, desire had done all the hard work, but this time her confidence faltered; their gender's basic shapes and structures were essentially the same for both species, but there  _were_  differences. She wondered if some of their pleasures were different too.

"Faster," was all he said, his teeth bared. "What about you? Show me what you want."

"Like this," she took his hands and put them where she wanted them, showed them what to do.

Then, she went  _faster_.

* * *

...then they fight you, then you win.


	12. Good things come to those who wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a night with Macet things get more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along. 
> 
> I'm away for a couple of weeks so it will about 3 weeks before you see the next chapter.
> 
> I've covered enough of what happened in the novels to make sense of what's going on if you haven't read them and re-written a couple of scenes from a different perspective if I thought I needed to. All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing and the returned Orbs comes from the books.
> 
> This isn't beta'd, I re-read, edit and fiddle over and over but somethings will slip through.

 

Good things come to those who wait

"Glinn Gomil to Gul Macet."

It was Macet's communicator that woke them. Kira heard him sigh and watched through half open lids as he lifted his hand and pressed his fingers to his eyes, as if the light was hurting them. He gently untangled his body from hers and stood up, rolling his shoulders before padding on bare feet to the living area. She watched him cast around for the source of the voice until he spotted his uniform shirt, hanging drunkenly from a chair. A curse or two accompanied his attempts to wrestle it the right way out, but finally he found his communicator and pressed it. "This is Macet."

"Sir, its 07:00hrs station time, you asked me to wake you."

"Yes, thank you Gomil, I will return to the Trager in approximately one hour."

"Acknowledged sir, Gomil out."

Macet continued to stand, naked in the living area, his back to her and his shirt dangling from his fingers. He stood there for so long she started to feel uncomfortable, wondering if he'd expected her to leave in the night.

But, there was something  _sad_  about the set of his shoulders; she slid out of bed and walked up behind him, putting a tentative hand on his shoulder and feeling his scales scrape her palm. He turned at her tug and his expression made her heart twist, so she took his face in both her hands and pulled him down for a kiss. "Thank you for a wonderful night," she said, earnestly.

He took one of her hands and turned it so he could kiss her palm. "It might have been better if it was dreadful." She could tell he was trying to lighten the mood, but his eyes were glum. "I will be patrolling the space between the wormhole and the Station, I won't come back here unless I have to. Once this crisis is over, I will request a different assignment.

Kira wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her ear to his chest and listening to his heart's steady, comforting thump. "If that's what you want, then I won't trouble you." She looked up again, meeting his eyes, "But, we have an hour and I don't want to waste it eating breakfast.

He reached behind him, took one of her hands from around his waist, and led her back into the bedroom.

* * *

Macet left about ten minutes before he was due on the Trager, choosing to walk, rather than be beamed out and have to explain why there was another person in the room. Kira waited a few minutes and then went to the computer panel in the wall. "Computer, where is Security Chief Ro?"

"Security Chief Ro is in the Security Office," the pleasant tones of the computer told her.

"Is she alone?"

"Yes,"

"Computer, connect me directly to her comm. unit."

"Ro here," Ro appeared almost immediately on the screen, "Good morning Colonel, what can I do for you?"

"I need you to transport me from my current location to my quarters and then delete the transporter log before anyone else sees it. I'll explain later," said Kira, without preamble.

Ro looked down at her work station, one eyebrow went up, but she didn't otherwise comment on her Commanding Officer's location. Kira watched for a few seconds as Ro tapped commands into the computer, preparing for a site to site transport. Finally, she looked up, "Stand by."

Kira stood up straight, Macet's quarters vanished and her own materialised around her. She tapped her comm. badge to re-open the channel, "Kira to Ro."

"Ro here, transport successful?"

Kira nodded automatically, despite the fact Ro couldn't see her. "Yes, I'm going to come and see you in about half an hour. See if your replicator has something I can eat for breakfast; we have a lot to discuss."

"Acknowledged, see you there."

Kira, trying not to think about Macet, or Odo, or Lenaris, or anything very much at all, stripped off her uniform and headed to the sonic shower.

* * *

When Kira came through the door of Ro's office, she was welcomed by a savoury smell that made her stomach grumble.

"Scrambled egg and smoked salmon, with Worcester sauce - whatever that is- " Ro nodded at the plate. "Don't ask me why that's in the replicator's memory under breakfast, but I just had some and it tastes good."

Kira shook her head, "I don't know either. Odo did experiment with foods occasionally. It sounds familiar, Terran I think." She dropped into the vacant chair and took a bite. "It' is good," she said and ate the whole plate.

Ro sat back and waited for her Commander to finish before pushing a glass of Kava juice across the table. "I'll get you a Raktajino in a minute; you look like you could use some vitamins."

"I didn't sleep much," Kira was grateful that Ro wasn't the type to smirk, or make jokes about why she was tired.

"I doubt anyone will notice," said Ro, impassively. "All the senior staff look exhausted. So, what can I do for you?"

Kira put her glass down, sat back and sighed. "You were right about General Lenaris and the two Lieutenants," she swallowed hard, thinking about it still made her faintly nauseous. "If I was going to have a lover at all, he wanted to make sure it was someone  _appropriate_."

"Putting aside the  _debatable_  appropriateness of a couple of wet behind the ears Lieutenants, I'm guessing he doesn't approve of Macet and I'm also guessing you've spent the night defying him," said Ro, without judgement.

Kira shrugged, "Not exactly," she set her jaw, refusing to be embarrassed, "Lenaris promised to turn a blind eye just this once."

Ro raised an eyebrow, "How generous of him. What if you don't do as you are told?"

"Lenaris blocks the resumption of the Peace talks so that Cardassia doesn't get any aid from Bajor and Lenaris discredits me as the publisher of the Ohalu prophecies. He said he'd fake evidence to show I stole the credit from someone else. I don't give a damn about my reputation;" Kira said savagely, "But Lenaris is willing to let innocent Cardassians die just so he can get his own way, there has to be something in it for him."

"Could just be religious conviction," suggested Ro. "Obsessive and irrational behaviour is hardly unusual."

Kira shook her head, "I don't think so, he's not the type, he's a resistance fighter first, a soldier second, very pragmatic."

Ro nodded thoughtfully, "Alright, what do you want me to do?"

Kira leaned forward, "Make sure he gets picked for a "random" Parasite check before he leaves. I expect him to pass it, but I want to be sure. Secondly, dig into his past. He wants to coerce Macet, I want to coerce him right back."

Ro's mouth turned up one side, "This will probably get us in a lot of trouble." Her smile widened, "Who cares, I was planning to leave anyway."

Kira nodded with grim humour and stood to go.

"Colonel," Ro said, her head on one side. "If you don't mind me asking, is Macet worth all this?"

Kira shook her head impatiently, "Macet isn't the point, chances are he'll be off on another assignment and I won't see him again." She shrugged, "I won't stand by while Lenaris uses living, sentient beings as pawns in whatever game he's playing."

Ro nodded, "Fair enough." She turned back to her work station.

Kira lifted her hand to activate the door and then paused. "Ro," she said over her shoulder, looking as if she'd had a sudden revelation. "If he was staying around..." she felt her face flush, but smiled too, "Yes," she said emphatically, "I think he'd be worth it."

Ro grinned at her, "Makes you think, doesn't it? If you dating a Cardassian makes sense, then perhaps me and Quark isn't such a mad idea."

"I wouldn't go that far," said Kira, still smiling.

* * *

Lenaris did not protest when he was targeted for a Parasite check before boarding his ship for Bajor, in fact he took it with great good humour. He was quickly declared to be clear and embarked with Lieutenant Ziddrey at his side.

The Parasite crisis built over the next two days and Kira had very little time to worry about her personal issues; she went nearly forty hours with little more than a catnap or two, running on raktajino and whatever food she could snatch on the run. She occasional heard Macet's reports from the blockade as she was passing though OPs and read the transcripts, but had no legitimate reason to speak to him directly, so she didn't try. Her feelings towards him existed in an odd sort of flux, not superseding her feelings for Odo, but sitting alongside them. Not more or less important, but different, both relationships weighed down by huge question marks.

The biggest surge of what now seemed to be her permanent adrenaline rush was triggered by the sudden arrival of the Defiant, back from three months in the Gamma Quadrant and at the worst possible moment.

Macet was charged with escorting them in. Commander Vaughn, kept in the dark as Macet couldn't explain his presence without potentially warning any Parasite infected persons that might be on board the Defiant, took evasive manoeuvres. It was only the timely interjection of Kira and Admiral Akaar that stopped the situation coming down to Phaser banks and Photon Torpedoes.

The Defiant came home carrying two surprises that were the only bright points in a slew of very dark days; after a complicated journey, both Jake Sisko and Opaka Sulan, once the truly beloved Kai of Bajor, had found their way home. They had brought with them a pilgrim, a Trellian named Wex, of preternatural impassivity, who seemed indifferent to being stuck on an alien station in the middle of dangerous crisis.

The following days of stress and danger culminated in the appalling abduction of Kassidy Yates and Jake Sisko, the birth of Kassidy's baby with Opaka Sulan acting as midwife and the final conquest of the Parasites, thanks to Kira subjecting them to the power of all Nine of the Bajoran Orbs at once. This last ditch, all or nothing, effort had a marvellous side effect; Ben Sisko came home from his time with the Prophets, just in time to witness his daughters birth.

Out of all this danger and wonder, one event caused Kira both the most joy and the most sadness. Wex, it transpired, was not Wex at all, but Odo, come incognito to help ensure the safe passage of Kai Opaka and Jake Sisko to the station. Once there he'd kept up the disguise, not wanting to distress Kira with what he expected to be a short visit. But when he'd realised her plans to go to Bajor, to face the Parasites alone, he'd stowed away as her utility belt and helped her defeat them, revealing his presence along the way.

* * *

There was considerable hullaballoo surrounding the return of the Emissary, the defeat of the Parasites and the birth of the Emissary's child. Once Ben, Kassidy and their new arrival had been transported home, escorted by Ben Sisko's first son Jake, Kira endured a short, preliminary debriefing with First Minister Asarem Wadeem and General Lenaris, during which she had to use every ounce of control she possessed to  _not_  to lean across the table and punch the General's smug head.

The situation was made worse by his following her as she left the meeting. "We need to talk Colonel," he said pleasantly, but with chilly eyes.

"I'm quite busy, as you can imagine General." Kira knew she was bordering on insubordination, but didn't care.

"Nevertheless, as your Senior Officer, I require you to accompany me on a walk in the temple gardens," he said, in the same, congenial tone.

Setting her jaw, Kira fell into step beside him. He didn't speak further until they were seated on a bench in the centre of a wide, empty lawn. It was ridiculously early in the morning and the gardens were vacant, other than a pair of monks tending the herb gardens in the distance.

"I'm glad to see that you ended the Macet business," said the General, his eyes on her face.

She scowled at him, "And how would you know that? There are lots of ways I could hide it."

He nodded, "That's true, but I still have people on the station. Oh! not Calas. He's exactly what he looks like, a competent aide de camp, nothing more. No, there are others and I think they would have found out. Anyway, I would imagine that now the Changeling has returned - ," he left the sentence delicately hanging.

Kira turned away, trying to compose her features, "Odo isn't staying, at least not permanently."

"Ah," the General nodded. "Well I think that's best, you should consider performing the rite of separation, make it a clean, public end."

She let her eyelids droop, hiding her anger. "Not that it is  _any_  of your business, but Odo and I have discussed our future, we are going to enjoy the time that he is here and  _if_  and when he comes back and  _if_  I am still free, then we will consider being together again."

" _If_  you are free?" the General raised an eyebrow.

Kira tried to relax her jaw, she stared at a beautiful bank of flowers at the edge of the lawn, trying to let the colours illuminate the dark corners of her thoughts, the corners where she told the Lenaris to jump into the Fire Caves and where she'd hidden the memories of her night with Macet. "I'm not planning any relationships at present," she said, in the calmest tone she could manage.

He nodded, "Good, I think that's wise. Have you thought any more about joining the Ohalavaru?"

She shook her head, "No, I haven't had time to think about anything other than the Parasiste crisis."

Lenaris shrugged, "Very well, but  _now_  is the time to consider it. I'll give you until the Changling leaves, then I expect you to join our cause. The people of Bajor need your leadership and I will get the Bajorans what they need." He stood up, adjusting the set of his uniform. "If you care about your Cardassian plaything and his people, or your own reputation, you'll make the right decision." He nodded in the direction of the Temple buildings, "I think it's time for breakfast, will you join me?"

Kira shook her head, "I think I'd benefit more from the fresh air." She closed her eyes, trying to calm her thoughts.

"As you wish," he said, indifferently and walked off towards the Temple.

She sat quietly for several minutes, letting her thoughts disperse, concentrating on her breathing and quietening her mind and emotions until she was almost in a meditative state. Finally, she got up and walked further into the garden until she reached a wooded glade. There was a tall viewing platform in the centre, that gave visitors a good view. She climbed up and when she reached the enclosed platform at the top, sat down. "We're alone," she said, apparently to thin air.

Her belt unwound itself from her waist, became a silver puddle and then formed itself into Odo. "I never did like him," he said gruffly.

Kira shrugged, "I didn't give him much thought until recently. What do you think?"

"I agree with your assessment; getting you to lead the Ohaluvaru would benefit him in some way, but I don't know what it is. He's taking a huge risk, blackmailing a senior member of the Militia."

"I know," Kira shook her head. "I asked Ro, your replacement, to look into his background. But with the Parasite crisis and everything else, I doubt she's had any time."

Odo stood up and offered Kira his hand, he pulled her up and they stood, looking out over the garden. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. "We'll go to the Station together, I'm sure your Lieutenant Ro wont mind if I lend a hand."

Kira smiled and hugged him back, "No, I'm sure she won't; she's been wanting to ask you about a few of your more cryptic notes in Quarks file."

"I don't blame her; if I was contemplating a relationship with Quark, I'd want to know  _everything_." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and frowned. "Kira, you told the General you weren't planning to start any relationships, if we succeed in stopping the General in whatever scheme he is planning, won't you take things further with Macet?"

She looked up at him, her eyes a little sad, but honest. "I don't know," she said. "It's been harder than I ever imagined, being so alone,being without you. All I know is that I still love you, that I will always love you, even if I never see you again after you leave."

He made a funny little harrumphing noise and wrapped her in both his arms, holding her tight "Then I'm a lucky man."


	13. Chalk and Cheese

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira and Odo return to the station together to try and discover a way to defeat General Lenaris, soon they discover that they will need Macet's help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along.
> 
> This part takes place during the events depicted in the relaunch novel "Unity". All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other, General Lenaris being a bad guy and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing, Odo's return and the returned Orbs comes from the books.
> 
> This isn't beta'd, I re-read, edit and fiddle over and over but somethings will slip through.

Chalk and Cheese

Despite the threat of General Lenaris' machinations, getting back to Deep Space Nine was wonderful. Not only was Odo back, but Ezri Dax, Julian Bashir and the whole O'Brien family as well. Kirayoshi O'Brien threw himself at "Auntie" Kira and flatly refused to be put down; she walked around Quark's almost the whole evening with him hanging off her hip.

Looking around the chatting, laughing faces she wished that Captain Sisko, Kassidy, Joseph, Jake and their new baby could be there, but it was a bit unfair to expect them to travel with a one day old infant. The crew made up for their absence, by toasting baby Rebecca Jae Sisko over and over again.

There were a few moments during the evening when her mind strayed to Gul Macet and she wondered what he was doing; now the blockade was no longer necessary, the Trager had been recalled to Cardassia and there had been no indication whether it would ever come back. But, whenever he came to mind, Kira consciously pushed him away, this was time for friends and for Odo.

* * *

Kira had the best night's sleep she'd had in months and faced the teetering piles of reports and requests that lay in her Office with renewed vigour. In amongst the day to day trivia was a relatively long recorded message from the Office of First Minister Asarem Wadeen, asking for Kira's opinion on three matters: Whether Bajor should resume the process of entry to the Federation, Ambassador Lang of Cardassia's request that the peace talks be resumed between Cardassia and Bajor and finally a report on the strengths and weakness of the Trill government's request that Hiziki Gard, the man who had killed the parasite walking and talking in the empty shell of the previous First Minister's body, should be tried on Bajor, or extradited to Trill to face an investigation.

Kira began by putting her argument for joining the Federation and continued peace talks with Cardassia in writing and sent it off, a little surprised that she'd even been asked. She then turned her attention to the matter of Hiziki Gard, Shakaar's assassin. The report noted the natural reluctance of the average Bajoran in the Temple to the idea of letting Gard go; he had killed Shaakar Edon's body, if not his mind, and Kira had to admit that, emotionally, she had some sympathy with them. It was difficult to comprehend that someone who looked like, and spoke with the same voice as, a loved one just wasn't them. On the other hand, it was convincingly argued that Shakaar had been long dead before the wound to his neck stopped his body from walking and talking. In summary, the report concluded that the infested Shakaar had actually being doing harm to Bajor and the Bajoran people should be grateful he'd been stopped, and therefore merciful.

While Kira was against actually giving Gard a medal (which had been suggested by a rather excitable Minister), she felt that Gard should go home. However, she suggested that Bajor should send Trill a letter of censure, diplomatically pointing out that if the Trill government (or whatever shadowy subset of the government) had not been so desperate to keep the link between the Parasites and the Symbiotes a secret, none - or at least very few - of the recent events would have transpired. She had to stop, and take some time to meditate and re-balance her emotions, once she'd finished recording that rational conclusion. The weight of that knowledge, that if the Trill had not been so intent on keeping their secrets, that Shakaar would have still been alive and still the person she had once loved, raised such a bubbling anger in her that she found herself trembling with rage and grief.

Once she had finally regained her composure, and with a few other pressing matters dealt with, Kira arranged for her and Odo to meet with Ro in the Security Office.

As she walked along the Promenade, Kira noticed a strange atmosphere. After the manic build up to the aborted signing ceremony, the deaths and the Parasite Crisis, most of the station's inhabitants looked a little punch drunk, not unhappy, or frightened as such, just subdued and a little lost.

The Klingon chef, with only two customers at his tables, sat on a stool at his counter and played a mournful tune on his squeezebox, not even singing along. Even his beard seemed to lack its usual bushy vigour.

A Vedek she didn't recognise passed her by with a pre-occupied air. "Walk with the Prophets child," he muttered as he passed, his eyes passing over her face without seeing it. She stopped and looked after him, wondering how he would feel if he realised he'd just blessed someone who was attainted.

She shook her head and carried on her way, passing Quark, who was hovering in the doorway of his bar, his eyes on the Security Office door. She had to repress a smile; a lovesick Quark was a marvellous thing, petty crime tended to go down. More so since the object of his affection was the Chief of Security. She passed him with a simple nod and he acknowledged it with a vague wave of his hand, his eyes still focussed on Ro's Office door.

A flash of coruscating radiance caught her attention and broke her stride; it turned out to be the bar lights bouncing off Trier's latest outfit, a number that covered every inch of flesh from chin to wrist and ankle like a second, shimmering skin. The Orion was leaning over the Dabo table, ready to spin, her hand resting lightly on the shoulder of a Tellarite Ship's Captain, who was laughing at something she was saying. Whatever the rest of the station was feeling, it was obviously business as usual for Trier.

Odo was already there when she arrived at the Security Office door, smiling indulgently at Ro, who seemed to be in the middle of a giggle fit. He welcomed Kira with the one sided smile she loved so much and nodded in Ro's direction, "I've just been telling your Lieutenant about Quark's attempt to sell your holo image to that trader Tiron."

Ro wiped her eyes, "I wish I'd been a fly on the wall when Quark saw the end result."

Odo cocked his head on one side, "Now _why_ didn't I think of that?"

"Ha, I remember you wouldn't let me punch Tiron. I was  _very_  annoyed," Kira smiled at them both. "I see you've introduced yourselves."

"Well," said Ro, a touch apologetically, "I couldn't fail to recognise him and he put my rank and my sitting in his old chair together."

"And I worried my deductive abilities might be rusty."

Kira shook her head at Odo's dry humour, "Lovely as this is, we have work to do, what if anything have you found out about General Lenaris?"

Ro and Odo looked at each other and he nodded to her, as if to say "it's your office".

Ro leaned back in the chair, "I started by talking to an old Friend at Starfleet; we have a reciprocal, if informal agreement when it comes to information sharing," she said, keeping her face carefully neutral.

Kira knew exactly what that meant; it meant that out of sight and out of mind of their Superior Officers Ro and her "friend" were swapping information, that their respective command structures would prefer they keep to themselves. It was just the sort of agreement that Kira had maintained between resistance cells and she heartily approved; sometimes the high ups had to keep their hands clean, sometimes the lower downs saw getting dirty as worth it. She nodded at Ro to continue.

"Bajor, as part of their negotiations for entry into the Federation, shared all their records from the Occupation with Starfleet Intelligence. This meant I could get a look at General Lenaris' file without some officious clerk at Militia records sending him a helpful little heads up about what we're doing." Ro picked up a Padd and started to read from it. "General Lenaris Holem, fifty years old, member of the Ornathia resistance cell from the age of twenty four." Ro looked up, "Quite a late bloomer, I don't have to tell you that most people joined the Resistance in their teens."

Kira nodded, "With the poor food and harsh conditions in the mines and the labour camps people grew up fast and got married young," she said, almost thinking out loud. "If you had a spouse and a young family you tended to knuckle down and avoid trouble. So, if you were going to join the resistance you joined young, before you settled down. Or, of course,  _after_  you'd  _lost_  your family. Is that what happened to Lenaris? Where was he held?"

Ro shook her head, "According to his record he was at Batal from the age of eleven to when he escaped to join the Resistance, no record of any spouse or children. But we shouldn't take that as a fact; record keeping amongst the Bajorans varied between the camps. Thirteen years is a long time in a Bajoran's life back then," Ro continued. "Before that he came from an orphanage at the Jabelon refugee camp. I can't find any records of his time at the orphanage, or any details of his parentage, just a bald sentence in his record of entry to Batal that that's where he was from."

Kira's eyes automatically searched out Odo's; she saw her own, faintly nauseated horror mirrored there, "I heard rumours."

"As did I," said Odo, gravely.

Ro sat up in her chair, "What rumours?"

Kira remembered that Ro had spent relatively little of her adult life on Bajor and her childhood had been more than usually unsettled, even for a child of the occupation. "The orphanage at Jabelon was promoted by the Cardassians as a model of efficiency, it was quite small, but the children there were remarkably well fed and clothed. Conversely, there was a much higher than average infant and child mortality rate. Rumour was, the children weren't dying; they were being sold, or bartered."

Ro's jaw set like granite, "Sold? For what purpose?"

"Any purpose," Kira pursed her lips and blinked rapidly, some of things she had seen and heard during the occupation still had the power to overset her emotions. "The Bajoran overseer of the time died in mysterious circumstances, the rest of the staff and the remaining children scattered to other orphanages. This must have been around the time Lenaris left."

Ro sat back again and looked across at Odo, "There's potential for a more than usually powerful hatred of Cardassians."

Odo nodded, "Agreed. But what might have happened to him doesn't give us any hold over him; we need more information."

"Yes," said Kira, absently. "But it changes things." She raised her eyes to Ro's, "I always saw him as a very rational, pragmatic person; this could mean very different motivations."

Ro shrugged, "He can have my sympathy for what happened to him at Jabelon, or Batal once we have some records and know what, if anything, it was. But it won't justify what he's doing now and you know he has to be stopped." She looked from Kira to Odo and back again. "Because this will only be the start; if he gets away with this then he'll be after the First Minister's position, maybe not in person, but he'll want to control it." She cocked her head on one side, "The Cardassian's kept scrupulous records. Once Lenaris left Jabelon and moved to Batal, he'd be recorded in the Cardassian archives."

Kira squared her shoulders, taking what Ro was saying onboard. "Do you have any way of getting access to their records?"

Ro shook her head, as did Odo.

"But you do," said Odo.

Kira looked at him puzzled, then the penny dropped, "You mean Macet." She felt the colour rising in her face, "I suppose so." She stood up, feeling awkward under Odo's gentle, un-judgmental eyes and Ro's sudden fascination with what was written on the Padd in her hand. "I'll contact him immediately," she said gruffly. She looked around as if she expected to find Macet in a corner. "Uh -" she said, her flush deepening, "it might be better if I have some privacy."

Ro stood up, "How about we go to Quarks for a little while," she said to Odo.

"What a wonderful idea," he said. "When Quark sees you with me, he'll be terrified."

* * *

Before trying to contact the Trager, Kira connected Ro's communications consul with a handy little sub-routine she'd been given when she was in the Resistance and that she'd kept to hand ever since. It deleted all record of a communication at both ends. She then "borrowed" Admiral Akaar's comm. signature and tagged her hail priority one, Captain's eyes only.

It felt like hours before her hail was answered. Of course, Macet would have to find somewhere private to take the message and if he wasn't in his office, just off the bridge, then that could take a while. She sat there, her stomach full of flapping insects and her pulse thumping under her collar, until finally the screen blinked into life.

"Admiral, what can I do for you?"

Macet was looking off to one side, as if his attention was on something else and didn't immediately realise that he wasn't addressing Akaar.

"You could look at me when I'm talking to you," said Kira, softly.

Her voice made him start and slew around. She thought she saw a flash of something in his eyes, before his expression changed, settling into a bland mask.

"Colonel, how unexpected," he said, with overdone and biting courtesy. His eyes were dark and flat, like the blue flints she used to dig up at the refugee camp, when she was a girl.

"Is something wrong?" she demanded, frowning, her anxiety prickling into anger.

She could see his tension in the set of his shoulders and his jaw. "Not at all," he said silkily. "All is as it should be; I am on my ship and you are on your station, in the arms of your old lover. What could be better?"

"So you've heard that Odo is here."

"Word travels, even this far. Yes I've heard. Not from  _you_  of course."

Kira sat back in her chair, breathing deeply, resisting the urge to holler at him and throw things at the screen. "I'm sorry," she said, through gritted teeth, realising, to her embarrassment, that she  _was_  sorry. Things had moved so fast, it hadn't occurred to her to tell him in person. Her embarrassment fed her anger and loosened her tongue, and she said the first thing that came into her head. "It didn't occur to me that I was required to report to you on my social interactions. You were the one who said it was over if you recall."

His head snapped, as if she'd slapped him, but he came straight back, leaning forward and smiling nastily. "A social interaction? How  _tepid_ , poor Odo! How do you describe me to him?" he leaned closer to the screen, "Or am I just a dirty little secret?"

Her breath hissed through her teeth, "No," she snapped. "He knows all about us."

"Does he," Macet's smile widened. He leaned in closer still, his voice a soft whisper. "Does he know that when I was licking and sucking your neck, my hands on your breasts, you  _rode_  my thigh so hard that you, -"

"Stop!" Kira threw up a hand of surrender, feeling her face go crimson at the memory. They'd drifted awake in the early hours of the morning, their hands already moving and he'd pulled them up and sat her on his thigh, so that he could reach her neck easily with his mouth and everywhere else with his hands. She'd completely lost herself in the moment and Macet had hardly given her time to draw breath before they were together again, barely untangling after they'd ended, before finally slipping back into sleep. "You knew that Odo coming back was a possibility, what do you want me to say?"

"Say that he hasn't been in your bed, say that he won't be," he said, through the clenched bars of his teeth.

Kira swallowed, "I can't say that, I won't lie to you."

"And I won't share," he said, his eyes bleak. "I hope you'll be very happy Colonel." He reached forward to cut the comm. line.

"Macet!" she shouted, slamming a hand down of Ro's desk. "You don't understand, Odo and I are saying goodbye."

He leaned forward, his head slightly on one side, "Goodbye? What do you mean?"

Kira swallowed again, "I mean he's going back to the Gamma Quadrant in a few weeks. I've told him that I can't go on like this, waiting for him when he might never come back, he understands. Odo and I are saying goodbye," she repeated finally.

He shook his head, "Cardassians have different ways of saying goodbye." He looked away, but she saw to her relief that his breath was finally slowing. "I will  _not_  pretend to be happy about it," he said, his tone still harsh, but softening. He looked back at her and his expression stopped her heart.

She lowered her gaze and shook her head, "I'm not asking you to, I'm asking you to try and understand."

"Well I don't," he said brusquely. He sat up straight and businesslike, "This is all irrelevant. I have a mission to complete and then I am likely to find myself patrolling our borders for the foreseeable future. If we are lucky, we won't have to meet again. I'm sure you will find someone to fill the void once the Changeling has gone," he finished coolly.

Kira closed her eyes for a moment, wishing he was in the room so that she could shake him until he saw sense. Her mind flashed back, quite inappropriately, to their last time together. It had been rushed and a bit clumsy, because they'd known he'd have to go soon and they were both tired. He hadn't been quite ready for her and for the first time she'd  _really_  realised that he was old enough to be her father, and that four times in one night might be asking a bit much of both of them. She'd wrapped her arms around him and kissed his neck, unable to find words to explain that it was all right, their being together was enough. Her lips had landed awkwardly on the ridge that ran down from behind his ear and she'd felt a small jolt run through his body, so she'd run her tongue all the way up his ridges, from his shoulder to his earlobe and that had done the trick; it had been messy and fast and hard and frantic and had finished up with them both breathless and her, at least, sore and aching.

It seemed now that  _that_ was going to be their goodbye and she tried to think it was appropriate.

She forced her eyes open. "Fine, if that's the way you feel I won't try and change your mind, but I called to ask you to find some records for me. General Lenaris was at the Batal Labour Camp and before that at the orphanage at Jabelon. I can't access Bajoran records without alerting him, but there should be duplicate, perhaps even more detailed records in the Cardassian data banks.

Macet stared at her through narrowed eyes, "What are you hoping to achieve?"

Kira huffed out a breath, "I'm hoping that I can find out why Lenaris is doing this, or failing that something I can use to neutralise him."

Macet leaned in to the screen again, "And if you find such a thing, what then?"

"Then I use it," Kira blinked at him, baffled by the question. "Without his influence the Ohaluvar should settle down, Bajor will regain some sort of stability, they'll be no reason why the talks between Bajor and Cardassia can't resume and," she raised her head, looking down her nose a little at him, refusing to be embarrassed, "and what I do with my personal life will be my own business," she finished.

His shoulders drooped as if his anger had been holding him up, "If you think I'll let us be together at the price of your career, then you're mistaken."

She blew a stray strand of hair off her face, feeling her own temper starting to deflate, "What,  _now_  you get rational?" she said, irritably, feeling her pulse finally start to slow.

He smiled suddenly, his eyes coming to life. It had a disconcerting effect, making her skin prickle and her heartbeat speed right back up again. "I'm not  _entirely_  unlike the average Cardassian; we tend to be possessive about the people we care for."

That sent her pulse  _hammering._  "Akellan," she said breathlessly, trying to find the right words even while she was melting into her seat. "I don't know what future we could have, but," she swallowed and dragged in a deep breath, "I do want to find out." She scowled, "But I'm never going to be your -, your  _possession_."

He looked at her for a long moment, his expression inscrutable. "A poor choice of words on my part, as for the rest, we'll see." He nodded decisively. "I shall get you your information, until then," he reached up and pressed his palm to the screen.

Unsettled, at first she didn't understand, then she remembered seeing Ziyal do it with Garak. Hesitantly, she laid her palm over his, her fingers trembling with dissipating tension.

"Until then."


	14. Clear as mud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of questions, but very few answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kira Nerys/Gul Macet and some Kira Nerys/Odo . Set after the end of the series. Spoilers for DS9 right to the end and the relaunch novels.
> 
> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along.
> 
> This part takes place at the end of the relaunch novel "Unity". All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other, General Lenaris being a bad guy and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing, Odo's return and the returned Orbs comes from the books.
> 
> This isn't beta'd, I re-read, edit and fiddle over and over but somethings will slip through.

 

Clear as mud

Once the comm. link was closed, Kira dropped her hand and sat there staring at the blank screen, her mind a jumble of fragmented thoughts and feelings. Macet's eyes, Odo's smile, snatches of memory, different pleasures at different times and with different faces. All this jumbled up with a feeling she couldn't quantify, because it wouldn't sit still and just  _be_  anger, or irritation, or upset, or - and this was the one that confused her the most - ecstasy.

Macet's jealousy and possessiveness had crashed into her like a badly docked shuttle and she didn't really know how to handle it.

She remembered Shakaar's struggle with her surrogate pregnancy, but that had taken the form of childishness and sulking that was over quickly and easily ignored. She hadn't felt able to be too hard on him, because there was some basis for his jealousy. She and Miles O'Brien had become precariously close at one point. Odo had picked up on it, so it was hardly impossible that Shakaar had, and her niggling sense of guilt had made her go easy on him.

During their talk Macet had not been the pleasant, calm, civilised person who'd made her look beyond her wariness of Cardassians and the memories that his face evoked. He'd been possessive, jealous, even a little spiteful. Suddenly he seemed very  _Cardassian._  She wondered if all she had seen of him before was a facade, or was this just another facet of his personality, something he'd been hiding from her. It brought home how little she actually knew him.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her and Macet's future, assuming they had one at all, was irrelevant at that moment. If they could deal with General Lenaris, then there might be time to find out who Macet  _really_  was and she would have no compunction in ending their "relationship" if that turned out to be the right thing to do.

But, even as she nodded to herself, confident in her ability to be rational about him, she found herself smiling. Macet would certainly find out that jealous tantrums cut no ice with Colonel Kira Nerys;  _but,_ the way he had of looking at her - like she was the only thing he had ever wanted - she liked it,  _more_  than liked it; she could still feel the heat of it radiating through her body, starting in her belly, heating her bones and glowing through her skin.

* * *

Kira wasn't sure how long she'd been staring at the wall, lost in thought, when Lieutenant Ro appeared in the doorway and made her jump.

"Sorry to interrupt but you've been a while." Ro raised an eyebrow, "So," she said slowly, "I'm guessing you had a  _good_  talk with Macet?"

Kira, whose thoughts had been stuck in a loop, circling from one emotion to another, realised she was grinning like a loon and felt her face heating up again. "Yes, no, I don't know!" She started to laugh, wondering if Ro would think she'd lost her mind.

Ro's lips twitched and then broadened to a smile as her Commander continued to chuckle, "You do know you're glowing, don't you?"

Kira took a couple of hiccupping breaths and finally stopped laughing, her face becoming serious, "Am I? I don't know why, he made me so,  _so_   _mad_!"

Ro pulled up a chair and sat down, "Well, that happens. When I was on the Enterprise there was this arrogant, self righteous,  _prig_  of a Commander.  _E_ _very-time_  I saw him I just -" Ro's hands balled into fists, "I  _just_  wanted to slap that smug expression of his face. He was so sure of himself and so sure that I didn't belong there. Then, one day, everyone on the ship lost their memories and we ended up in bed together. It was an eye-opening experience."

Kira blinked at her, bemused. " _Everyone_  lost their memories?"

"Long story," Ro said, with a shrug and a grin.

"I bet," said Kira. "Anyway, it doesn't matter." She waved a dismissive hand in the air, "Macet is going to check into Lenaris' record and get back to us." She looked around, "Where's Odo?"

"Still in the bar, driving Quark crazy. He told me that he was enjoying himself too much to leave, but I think he wanted to give you some space to talk to Macet."

Kira smiled, a little wryly. "For someone who keeps saying he doesn't understand solids he's very astute."

Ro leaned back, lacing her fingers across her stomach. "Especially when it comes to you, I think. So, do you want to talk about it?"

Kira opened her mouth and closed it again, swallowing her automatic "no"; keeping things to herself didn't seem to be working for her lately. She shook her head, what at, she wasn't sure. "He was angry," she shrugged, her eyes dropping to the floor.

Ro raised one eyebrow, "What about?"

Kira shrugged again, "Because Odo is back, because I didn't tell him. But, he was the one that said he was going away, that we definitely couldn't be together," she added flatly.

Ro leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, "So he's jealous. I'd say that's his problem rather than yours."

"I know; I'm not planning to let him get away with it," said Kira, irritably. "I've been honest about Odo from the beginning." She huffed out a breath, "I don't think I'm very good at this."

Ro raised an eyebrow, "Good at what?"

"Managing two lovers at once, or, the way things are going, one ex lover and one soon to be ex lover," she rolled her eyes.

"Or," said Ro, brightly, "one ex lover soon to be a lover again and one soon to be ex lover unless he comes back and you and the first ex lover are exes again," she grinned.

"Don't," said Kira, pulling a face and raising a hand in surrender. "It's starting to sound like one of those horrible holo-novels Quark sells."

Ro nodded, "Throw in the evil General trying to keep you all apart and you might have something; you should write it."

Kira shook her head. "I'm not much of a writer, unless it's reports." She stood up abruptly, "Anyway, the important thing now is that Macet's going to look into Lenaris' record; is there anything else we can do in the mean time?"

"Well," said Ro, "while Odo was tormenting Quark, I did a little more reading and spotted something." She offered a Padd to Kira. "It may be meaningless, but did you know that Lenaris was in charge of the Security team assigned to the Romulan diplomatic delegations that visited Bajor a few months ago? They were supposed to be discussing the future of some of the old Bajoran colonies, that Romulus annexed from Cardassia after the Dominion war."

"You mean the ones that Romulus is "protecting"," said Kira, dryly.

Ro nodded, "So, I'm thinking. Lenaris is essentially an isolationist; the Cardassian woman we found dead was a member of the True Way, a Cardassian isolationist organisation. Add the Romulans who want to keep what they've snatched and you have a match made in the Fire Caves. All of them had reasons to de-rail Bajor's entry into the Federation and stop the peace talks with the Cardassians, which is why we thought they might be a plotting to assassinate Shakaar."

"But they didn't assassinate him," said Kira, frowning, "Hiziki Gard did."

Ro cocked her head on one side, "Because they didn't get the chance. The Cardassian and Romulan were dead. For all we know that  _was_  their plan."

Kira stared at her blankly, "So where would Lenaris come in? He didn't try to assassinate Shakaar; surely he would have tried before the signing if he wanted to keep Bajor out of the Federation."

Ro shrugged again, "Maybe because he'd run out of assassins. I doubt he'd want Shakaar's death to be brought home to a Bajoran. The point was to bring Bajorans together against the Cardassians, not split them apart." She waved a finger in an "abracadabra" gesture, "So, we have a dead Romulan and a dead Cardassian, both of whom may well have been double crossed. If so, someone, somewhere is going to be pretty angry about it and might be willing to give me evidence against Lenaris."

"Alright," Kira nodded. "I don't think I want to stir up the Romulans just yet, do you have any contacts on Cardassia that can put you in touch with the "True Way"?"

Ro nodded thoughtfully, "A few, but not ones I can trust to keep my questions to themselves. I think I need to talk to Garak. That cleric from the Oralian way is still on the station and she knows him, I'd like to go and speak to her."

Kira nodded slowly, "Alright, try and avoid a diplomatic incident if you can." She frowned and shook her head, looking puzzled. "Proving a Cardassian vandalised Ziyal's art would have pulled the Bajorans on the station together against the Cardassians, having a Cardassian kill Shakaar would have pulled the whole of Bajor together against them. The thing I don't understand is why Lenaris has got involved with the Ohalavaru and why he's trying to drag me into it. It's dividing Bajor, not bringing them together."

Ro shook her head, "It's dividing them against each other,  _not_  against the Cardassians. Like I said to you before, Lenaris has got to be looking for opportunities to take control. If he can destabilise Bajor internally, he has a better chance of doing that and -" she continued apologetically, "you are a destabilising influence."

Kira gritted her teeth, "I know," she said, keeping her tone level. She couldn't blame Ro for telling the truth, however unpalatable. "It's still all more guesswork than anything else though."

Ro shrugged, her eyes lowered, "When crimes get political, a lot of the time it's a matter of figuring out where to start poking your nose. If we poke our nose in the right place, we'll probably get a reaction."

" _That's_  what worries me," said Kira, with grim emphasis.

Ro raised her head and met Kira's eyes steadily, "I know, it's a risk. But, so far, Lenaris has been playing a long, careful game. It's probably the only way we'll get any proof."

Kira nodded, "I know," she said harshly. "Is that everything?"

"Well," said Ro, hesitantly, "It's a bit of a long shot, but I've been wondering who else might have sneaking about the station at the time."

For a moment Kira didn't get what Ro meant, and then it came to her. "Hiziki Gard! It would make sense for him to reconnoiter before the security got so tight." She smiled grimly at Ro, "Before we start causing diplomatic incidents, let's go and see him."

* * *

Hiziki Gard was still in the holding cells, pending a decision from the Bajoran government, concerning whether he was to be tried on Bajor, or extradited to Trill.

When they arrived he appeared to be sleeping.

Ro dismissed the Bajoran security officer on duty and approached the cell. "Gard," Ro called through the barrier, "We need to talk to you."

The Trill assassin stirred and opened one eye. "Certainly Lieutenant," he sat up neatly. "Colonel too, what can I do for you?"

"When you arrived with the Trill Ambassador, was that the first time you'd been aboard the station?"

The Trill's expression sharpened to one of acute, but wary interest. " _Personally_  yes,"he finally said.

"Personally," Ro regarded him through narrowed eyes. "So, someone else was here first."

Gard subjected both Ro and Kira to a penetrating stare. "I know we've achieved a measure of trust in each other's motives Lieutenant, but I don't see why I should tell you any more at present."

Kira made an impatient noise and stepped closer to the energy barrier sealing off the detention cell. "We're not interested in pursuing your conspirator; we need information about a different matter. When were they here, what were they doing and what did they see while they were doing it?"

Gard sat silently for a few seconds and then stood up, "I won't reveal their true name, but I see no reason not to tell you. A few days before I arrived with the Ambassador, an operative from my organisation came aboard the Station. Their job was to secrete my Isolation suit somewhere that I could transport to easily and where the localised energy readings would scramble my life signs."

"Would this be somewhere near the main fusion reactor by any chance?" asked Ro.

Gard widened his eyes in surprise, "Yes, it was, oh." He smiled, "I assume you've found the body."

Kira felt every muscle in her body turn rigid, their simplest lead had paid off, Gard  _knew_  something.

"You tell me what body you're talking about and I'll tell you if we've found it," said Ro, severely.

Gard sighed, "A Cardassian female. My operative wasn't close enough to estimate an age and the poor woman's murderer was very keen to push her down the turbo lift shaft and be gone."

Kira and Ro froze, " _Murderer?_ " said Kira, softly.

Gard's eyebrows went up, "Didn't you know? My Operative said it was a Bajoran male. He transported into an access tunnel, dropped the woman down the shaft, threw something after her and transported out again."

"What access tunnel?" said Kira.

* * *

Kira and Ro were running, ignoring the surprised stares of people on the Promenade.

"He'd only have been there a few seconds," puffed Ro as they dived into a Turbolift that would take them down to the main fusion reactor. "Chances are he didn't leave any evidence, especially after all this time."

Kira knew that Ro wasn't trying to suggest that they shouldn't bother going; she was just trying to manage their expectations, to ensure that her Commanding Officer in particular didn't get her hopes up. "I know. When we've finished, remind me to go back and ask Gard why he kept this to himself. If we don't find any evidence I'm going to charge him with impeding an investigation and send him to Bajor for trial, whether the First Minister likes it or not."

"Hmm," said Ro. "I wonder if his "operative" knows anything about our dead Romulan?"

"We'll ask him later."

They traveled the rest of the journey almost in silence, crawling along the access tunnels until they reached the larger open space where the tunnel joined the Turbo Lift Shaft. Cautiously, they crawled out of the tunnel and stood up, keeping their backs to the wall while Ro opened her tri-corder.

Kira forced herself to be patient as the device emitted its usual soft, chirruping sequence of tones. Finally, it started beeping and she had to force herself to stand still, while her stomach lurched and rolled in anticipation.

Ro smiled. "There is some genetic material here, a mix of Cardassian matching the dead Glinn and an unknown Bajoran Male," she whispered. "My Tri-corder is connected to the station's database, we need to connect to the Bajoran central records office. I'll have a better chance of making the link if I get away from all this interference."

Kira nodded, "Do that and get a forensic team up here. There may be other evidence."

Ro nodded back. She tapped her comm. badge, "Ro to Security." She waited a moment and then tapped it again, "Ro to Ops." There was still no reply. "The main Fusion Reactor causes dead comm. spots. I'll go back the way we came." She turned around and started crawling back into the access tunnel.

One of Ro's feet was still in view, when there was the sudden sound of an energy discharge. Automatically, Kira jumped back and as she watched, Ro's leg jerked violently and disappeared into the tunnel.

Kira threw her back to the wall, un-holstered her Phaser, set it on heavy stun and listened. Other than the usual hums, clicks and buzzes natural to a maintenance area, there was silence. She tapped her comm. badge and whispered, "Kira to Security." As with Ro, there was no response.

She was just about to duck down, shoot first and ask questions later, when the lights went out. Choking back a gasp, she forced herself to stay still, breathing slowly, her ears pricked and her phaser pointed at her best guess of the location of tunnel's entrance. Finally, she heard a scuffle and without hesitation, fired.

The tunnel lit up like a spot lit stage and Kira saw a man's figure diving off to the right. She turned smoothly and fired again, just as he knocked her arm up, sending her phaser beam harmlessly into the Turbo Lift Shaft.

The flash gave her a quick glimpse of her attackers face. It was the Bajoran Security Officer who'd been on duty when Kira and Ro had gone to see Gard. She couldn't remember his name; he'd come aboard towards the end of the Dominion War and there'd been so many new faces. Whoever he was, he was fast and strong, blocking Kira's attempt to back hand him with her Phaser arm and promptly hooking her legs out from under her.

She landed hard, rolled and felt his boot stomp the deck plates beside her head. She swiped blindly with her arm, caught hold of his pants leg and yanked as hard as she could.

She felt the breeze of his pin wheeling arms as he tried to keep his balance, so she yanked again and he finally toppled, crashing down somewhere to her right. She scrabbled onto her knees and punched blindly, hoping to hit his groin or second best his stomach. She missed them both, slamming her fist into his ribs instead and feeling one crack.

He hardly made a noise, just backhanded her with the full force of his arm, catching her across her right ear and cheek and sending her spinning and crashing into the wall. She had just got one foot under her when he landed on her back, slamming her flat and knocking the breath from her lungs.

Even as she gasped for breath, she kicked, jabbed and thrashed, forcing his arms away as he tried to get one around her neck. In the end, he lifted his weight and slammed her again. The pressure forced her head back and he grabbed her hair with one hand and encircled her neck with his free arm.

She screamed, or tried to, and continued to thrash and kick. He let go of her hair and clamped his hand over her mouth and nose, so she bit him, hard enough to tear away a chunk of flesh.

He cursed her softly and tightened his hold around her neck, making flower like flashes pop and bloom in the darkness of her eyes.

Suddenly he vanished, as if she'd imagined him. One moment his weight and his squeezing arm were there, and then they were gone. Kira flopped over and clutched her throat, gasping. The deck plates were icy against her back, where his body had heated her skin and there was an even colder, clammy patch of hair behind her ear, where his harsh breath had made it damp. She scrubbed weakly at it with her sleeve, finding it disgusting.

When she could properly breathe again and the thudding in her ears had subsided, she became aware of the sounds of a struggle and the strangled cries of someone in distress.

She forced herself to stand and feeling along the wall, she found a panel and ran her fingers over the touch screen, trying to remember how to re-boot emergency power. After a few false attempts, she hit the right combination and finally the lights buzzed and flickered back to life, settling down to a rhythmic, on - off - on strobing pulse, that did nothing to ease her nausea, or the pounding in her head.

Blinking, she looked around. Ro was slumped by the opening to the tunnel, consciousness going on and off in her eyes - like the lights - as she vainly tried to raise her phaser. Kira followed the general direction of her arm and saw Odo, three "limbs" bracing him at the opening to the turbo lift shaft.

He looked back at her, his face empty of emotion. "Shall I drop him?" His gravelly voice was so harsh that she was sure he meant it.

Kira stepped forward carefully, holding onto the wall and looked over Odo's arm and downwards.

The Security Guard was gripped in the loop of Odo's "arm" and his panicky, kicking legs were beating a tattoo on the shaft walls. Though her thoughts were still sluggish, his name chose that moment to come back to her, "Hello Roscha," she said. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to focus on Odo's question. "No," she said finally. "We need answers."

* * *

Ro was on a bio-bed, sedated and looking very young and innocent in her sleep. Dr. Bashir had insisted; the old pre-occupation weapon Roscha had used to stun her hadn't knocked her out for long, but had left her very confused and unsteady. No-one seemed to know enough about weapons from that era to tell whether it had malfunctioned and technical records from the period were almost non-existent. But, after a few minutes, Ro had started to wake up and though semi paralysed, she'd managed to open a comm. channel and slur the simplest, useful word she could think of "Odo". Thankfully, Roscha had dragged her out of the dead comm. spot and the message had gone through.

Odo was watching over their stubbornly silent prisoner in detention. Kira had sent a security contingent along with him, not just because she thought Roscha might be dangerous, or try to escape, but because she'd rarely seen Odo so angry. If Roscha offered him provocation, Kira was uncertain whether he would restrain himself.

She was forcing herself to sit still while Dr Tarses treated her mild concussion, the soft tissue trauma to her neck, a broken finger that she didn't even remember happening and her various other cuts and contusions.

"I'm glad you're here Colonel," he said conversationally, as he fiddled with the settings on his dermal re-generator. "Not glad that you had to wound yourself to do it of course."

"I didn't actually wound myself Doctor," said Kira, with a touch of tartness.

Doctor Tarses smiled apologetically, "You know what I mean." He ran the re-generator up and down her cheek and then put it down. "It's about our mysterious Cardassian. With Dr Bashir's help I've finally figured out why I was getting such odd cellular readings. If you weren't already here I would have called you."

Kira raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure it's very interesting Doctor, but can it wait until after I've interviewed our prisoner?"

Dr Bashir walked over to join them at the Biobed, "I'm not sure it should wait Colonel," he said earnestly. "As you know Dr Tarses was concerned because some of the Cardassian's skin cells were ruptured."

"I  _vaguely_  remember," said Kira, shaking her head.

Dr Bashir but his padd down on the trolley next to the bio-bed and precisely aligned it with its edge. "After some further investigation, Dr Tarses and I discovered a decayed and previously unrecorded virus infecting the Cardassian's skin. We extracted its DNA and conducted some tests; we've only just got the results."

Kira looked from one Doctor to the other a little impatiently, "So?"

"Because of the way this virus enters via the skin cells, we believe it has been engineered specifically to infect Cardassians and  _only_  Cardassians," said Julian.

Kira slid off the Biobed and nearly to the floor, her legs felt like they were boneless and stuffed with hasperat soufflé. Julian caught her and held her until she found her legs again. "Are you telling me," she said, her voice rough, "That someone has been developing a biological weapon that specifically targets Cardassians?"

Dr Tarses looked faintly surprised at her reaction, but nodded, "The virus was designed to specifically target Cardassian DNA, rupturing the epidermal cells and then moving inwards. In our subject there were some early signs of rupture in the skeletal muscles and even the Cardiac muscle. I project that if the virus had performed as intended, she would have suffered complete organ failure within thirty nine hours, suffering horribly in the process."

"But she didn't." Kira looked from Dr Bashir to Dr. Tarses and back, "Why not?"

Dr. Tarses glanced at Dr. Bashir before answering, "The virus decayed too rapidly to be fully effective; she might not even have been aware that she was infected, when she was placed into Stasis. It would have felt like -" he waved a hand in a vague circle, trying to find a comparison, "an allergic reaction. Very itchy and sore, but not much more."

"Stasis?" Kira blinked at him, "She was in  _stasis_?"

Both Doctors nodded. "For some months," said Dr. Bashir. "There was a residual energy signature in her Brain Stem that we couldn't immediately identify, but, after some research, we believe it's an energy artifact from a pre-occupation Bajoran stasis chamber."

Kira sat on the edge of the bio-bed and frowned at the floor. "So, a Cardassian, infected with a potentially fatal, but faulty disease - a  _manufactured_  disease - is placed into stasis for months and then taken out just in time to be murdered." She shook her head, "What is he  _up_  to?" she said, through clenched teeth.

The Doctors looked at each other. "I'm sorry Colonel, who?" said Julian.

"Never mind." Kira looked up at him, "Could they, whoever they are, have developed this disease any further?"

Dr Bashir shrugged, "Certainly. Or perhaps they gave up when it failed to work. I can tell you there's no record of any new diseases on Cardassia."

Kira held a hand up and closed her eyes. "Hang on, pre-Occupation stasis tube, pre-occupation weapon," she said, more to herself than anyone else.

Dr. Tarses looked from her to Julian and back again, confused. "I'm sorry Colonel, is that significant?"

Kira shook her head, impatiently. "I don't know, it's just odd. Why all the antique equipment?" She straightened up, "I need to go and see Roscha."

* * *

Deputy Roscha Unos sat in the holding cell next to that of Hiziki Gard, his shoulders slumped, staring at the floor.

Kira watched him silently for a few minutes, Odo standing sentinel beside her. Finally. she took a deep breath, "Why did you attack me and Lieutenant Ro?"

Roscha didn't even look up.

Kira stepped a bit closer to the barrier, "I'll ask you again," she said, her tone hardening. "Why did you attack me and Lieutenant Ro?"

The prisoner's fingers tensed and relaxed, but he made no other sign that he'd heard her.

Odo moved forward, "You realise that, even if you did not do it yourself, you are implicated in the murder of a Cardassian citizen. This crime takes precedence over the attack on Colonel Kira and Lieutenant Ro. If you do not speak Colonel Kira will have no choice but to extradite you to Cardassia.

Roscha's shoulders started to shake.

"Well?" prompted Odo. "What is it to be? A nice,  _clean_  Bajoran prison, or a death sentence on Cardassia?"

Suddenly Roscha raised his head and, to their mutual shock, they saw that he was laughing; laughing so hard that tears trickled down his face, but still, he said nothing.

"What's so funny?" asked Odo, stepping closer to the barrier again, his head on one side.

Finally Roscha spoke. "You think you can scare me by threatening to hand me over to the Cardassians," he gasped, holding his chest and sides. "That's the funniest thing I ever heard." His hands dropped and with a few deep breaths he stopped laughing and just sat there, smiling at them. "Do it, see how far it gets you." He lay down on the bunk and rolled over, turned his back to them and ignored any further attempts to get him to talk.

But, every so often, his shoulders would shake, as if whatever had caused him to laugh had struck him again, and was too funny to be completely contained.


	15. Flogging a dead horse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira wrestles with the situation as it becomes more political and Macet shows up just in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along. Apologies for the wait, but I've now drafted the rest of the story to the end, so it should be quicker now.
> 
> All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other, General Lenaris being a bad guy and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing, returned Orbs, Odo's return and the Parasite crisis comes from the books.
> 
> There is more Odo/Kira in this story than I anticipated, I apologise if that is not your thing.
> 
> Not beta'd, I edit, fiddle and re-read over and over, but stiff is bound to slip through.

Flogging a dead horse

Roscha did not speak again. Kira, and then Odo, tried once more, without any result. In the end, Kira brought Vedek Solis to the holding cells, but the Bajoran deputy wouldn't even look him.

Involving Vedek Solis had been a calculated risk on Kira's part; she admired the Vedek hugely and did not want to believe that he was involved in Lenaris' plots, however much he might identify himself with the Ohalavaru. However, it seemed worth confronting Roscha with the Vedek, to see what reaction there might be, on either side.

There was none. At least none that seemed significant. Roscha's shoulders slowly tensed as the Vedek's gentle words washed over him, but he did not speak, or even turn his head. Solis seemed as he always was, passionate but serene.

Kira stood by the door of the detention area all through Solis's visit. When the Vedek finished talking with a heartfelt, "May you walk with the Prophets again," he turned and saw her there and shook his head sadly, holding out an arm, inviting her to walk with him.

"Poor man," said Solis, as they stepped out onto the Promenade. "What possible motivation could he have for attacking you? Is it something to do with your Attainder?"

Kira hadn't told the Vedek anything about the likely motivation for the attack; however much she believed in Vedek Solis, it was sensible to wait and see if he might betray any knowledge of Roscha's motives. "We're still investigating," she said, neutrally.

"Which means," said Solis, with a touch of humour, "That you know, but can't prove it, or you know and just don't want to tell me. Fair wisdom on your part," he shivered and pulled his robes more snugly around him. "Isn't it strange that the Pah-Wraiths inhabit the fire caves - I always think evil is a cold thing."

Kira thought of Gul Dukat and his plots and betrayals; the only genuine warmth she'd every felt from him had been connected with his daughter. "You may be right," she said.

"Yes, well, that's a topic for a sermon, not the promenade. Do you need anything else from me today?"

"I don't think so," said Kira, carefully. "But I may need to call on you again."

Solis smiled, "Of course." He put a hand on her shoulder, "Do be careful Nerys. Walk with the Prophets."

Kira went straight to her Office, contacting Odo and Dr. Bashir on the way. She asked Odo to continue questioning Roscha, even though she didn't believe that he would wear the prisoner down. Then she asked Dr. Bashir to continue working with the virus, with a view to finding a cure. She passed straight through Ops, nodding briskly at the Officers on duty and went straight up the stairs to her office, engaged the privacy lock and sat down. She needed to think and she needed to do it without any interruptions.

The virus and its implied threat against the Cardassians had raised the situation to a new level. There was more at stake now than her career and a peace process that might become moot if Bajor joined the Federation. It was no longer acceptable to keep the situation between herself, Ro, Macet and Odo.

With so little evidence to connect Lenaris to the vandalism of Ziyal's art and the death of the Romulan and Cardassian, it would be her word against his. So, she had to tell First Minister Asareem Wadeen, but how much should she tell her?

She had to tell her about the virus; Dr. Bashir would certainly report to Starfleet Medical, assuming he had not already done so, probably copying his report Admiral Akaar and of course, it would be the right thing to do. But, telling Asarem about the Virus meant telling her about the dead Cardassian Glinn and her connections to the "True Way. That would raise questions about a Cardassian presence on the Station in the run up to the aborted signing, especially since she had been found with the Force field Bubble Device. In isolation that would raise just the sort of anti-Cardassian paranoia that would play straight into General Lenaris' hands.

The only way that Kira could see of preventing Bajor's ruling council from jumping to the conclusion that Cardassia was engaged in terrorist activity against Bajor, was to tell Asareem about Lenaris' attempts to blackmail her, and her suspicions about his involvement relating to the Force Field Bubble Device. The burning question was, even with Odo as a witness, would Asareem believe her? Would Akaar?

Kira sat and worried at the problem, turning it this way and that in her mind. She was just deciding to lay the matter in front of Admiral Akaar and the First Minister at once when her work station chimed, indicating that a priority message had come through.

She opened her messaging system and found a preliminary forensic report from the access tunnel where Roscha had attacked her. Her stomach flipped over, so much had happened, she'd actually forgotten about the evidence in the tunnel.

She opened the report, trying to damp down her excitement; no doubt the only male Bajoran DNA at the tunnel's edge would be Roscha's, one fresh from his attack on Kira and Ro and one degraded from the murder of the Cardassian. That would take them no further forward, since Roscha wasn't talking.

But there wasn't just one male, Bajoran, DNA sample, there were two.

A fresh one from Deputy Roscha Unos.

And a degraded, but identifiable one from General Lenaris Holem.

For a time she didn't even breathe, then everything rushed back at her and she gasped as though she had been running for too far and too long.

Lenaris had made a mistake, a silly mistake, she had evidence. Ro had been right; it was just a matter of poking their nose into everything.

She forced herself to breath evenly, pushing down her natural urge to act immediately. Using her work station she collected the information she needed, did some calculations and called a meeting for the following morning.

Kira took her place at the head of the Wardroom table and standing by her chair, she pressed the touch pad set in the table's surface. The screen at the end of the room came to life, revealing First Minister Asareem, flanked by two of her Ministers. "Thank you for joining us First Minister."

Asareem nodded tersely, "You are welcome Colonel," she said, "I have not forgotten how essential you were to the resolution of the Parasite crisis."

Kira recognised the pointed comment for what it was, the First Minister was letting her know that her credit was limited and calling Asareem to an urgent meeting, without giving a reason in advance, would use it up fast. "Thank you First Minister," she said, without irony. She looked around the room, gathering the attention of all those present.

To her left was Odo and to her right Security Chief Ro. Further around sat Commander Elias Vaughan, her second in Command, not long returned from Bajor after his strange and disturbing experiences during the Parasite crisis. Next to him was Lieutenant Ezri Dax, recently transferred to Command and next to her Dr. Julian Bashir, the last Starfleet representative of the original Deep Space Nine crew (if you discounted the Dax symbiont inside its two hosts). Finally, on the other side sat Admiral Akaar, whose expression made it very clear that he did not expect his time to be wasted.

Kira drew a deep breath, "Everything I am about to tell you, along with all the supporting evidence is included in my report which you should have now;" she tapped the touch pad again. "To summarise, some weeks ago an exhibition of art by the artist Tora Ziyal was vandalised, no doubt with the intention of derailing the diplomatic talks between Cardassia and Bajor. The most notable thing about the scene of the crime was that it had been swept clean of all DNA, not only that of the perpetrator, but all DNA. Security Chief Ro," Kira nodded to where Ro was sitting, "discovered decayed Baryon radiation at the scene. Baryon radiation destroys all organic matter it comes in contact with."

Kira paused for a moment, looking around the room, checking that everyone was following what she was saying. "There is a piece of Dominion technology that creates a force field bubble. It has many uses, it can be modified to act as a cloaking device and to hide life signs, and it can also release a Baryon radiation pulse, destroying all DNA within the field. Gul Macet, who was representing Cardassian interests in the investigation, took steps to insure that the two such devices stored on Cardassia were still where they were supposed to be. He also found evidence that the Romulans had been in receipt of at least one of these devices during the technological exchanges undertaken during the Romulan/Dominion non-aggression pact."

"Romulans!" One of the Ministers flanking First Minister Asareem interrupted, "Are you telling me that you have called the First Minister of Bajor into an emergency meeting because some Romulan art critic went too far? And you've based this on the word of a Cardassian?"

"No," said Kira, calmly. "But Cardassians would have everything to lose and Romulans everything to gain. With no aid from Bajor Cardassia would only become weaker and less able to repel the Romulans who are already becoming entrenched in Cardassian space."

Looking around the table Kira saw a faint flicker in Akaar's eyes that gave her confidence, he was still scowling, but she knew she'd caught his attention.

"As some of you know, a few days later we discovered the corpse of a Romulan. If you look at the summary of his autopsy you will see that there was decayed Baryon radiation at the scene and his injuries suggest he was caught in the closing force field bubble." Some of those present checked their padds. and more than one grimaced, suggesting they'd looked at the images of the Romulan's injuries. "In agreement with Admiral Akaar we stiffened station security, undertaking station wide sweeps. But nothing further was discovered, until the following day, when we found another body at the bottom of the Turbo Lift shaft leading to the main reactor. This time the body was that of a Cardassian woman, Glinn Gila Ovan, a known member of the Cardassian organisation the "True Way". Beside the body were the smashed remains of the Force field Bubble device."

"So, said Commander Elias Vaughan, Kira's second in Command."This was some kind of plot between Romulans, who want to keep the territory they've already annexed and a Cardassian isolationist group? Were they planning to assassinate First Minister Shakaar too?"

"I don't know what the Romulan was planning," Kira replied, shaking her head. "But Glinn Ovan could not have been conspiring to assassinate Shakaar. She'd been in stasis for months before her death. What was more she had been infected with a virus specifically designed to targrt only Cardassians."

"What sort of Virus?" First Minister Asareem cut through the murmur going around the room. "Is it fatal?"

Kira indicated that Dr. Bashir should speak.

"The virus I discovered infecting Glinn Ovan had failed to replicate sufficiently," he said, addressing his remarks to the First Minister. "If it had, she would have suffered a long and painful death. However, we have no idea whether this virus has been developed any further, it is certainly possible, but would depend on the skill of the scientists and doctors involved."

"If required, could you develop it further Dr. Bashir?" asked Admiral Akaar.

"Yes," said Julian simply. "I have found a fault in the virus' base pair sequence, I'm certain I could correct it, but for obvious reasons I haven't done so."

Admiral Akaar nodded thoughtfully, "If necessary, can you cure it?"

"Given enough time and a sample of the actual virus that was planned for release," said Julian, confidently, "I'm certain I could, yes."

"Good," said Akaar. He nodded at Kira, "I apologise for interrupting."

Kira nodded, appreciating his unusual courtesy. "Thanks to the assassination and the parasite crisis this virus was only fully discovered yesterday. Obviously I have called this meeting to discuss what we do next, in light of its discovery." She paused, looking around the room and checking everyone's focus. "However, there is another, related matter that I need to put before you first. Originally it was thought that Glinn Ovan fell to her death, smashing the Force field Bubble Device in the process. A witness has now told us that she did not fall, she was thrown.

"Lieutenant Ro and I went immediately to the scene and discovered a DNA signature, but, before we could get this analysed, we were attacked by a Deputy Constable named Roscha Unos. Despite his efforts and thanks to the timely intervention of Odo," Kira placed a hand on Odo's shoulder, "we were able to secure the evidence and have it analysed. The only DNA found at the site other than that of Glinn Ovan, myself, Lieutenant Ro and Deputy Roscha was that of General Lenaris Holem."

Kira's revelation fell into the room like a carelessly thrown grenade.

Most of the Starfleet personnel reacted with stunned silence, but Kira's eyes went to the screen where the two Minister's flanking Asareem had both broken into shrill and incredulous speech.

"... Preposterous slander against a respected member of the military..."

"... A rebel courting controversy at every turn, do not listen to her..."

In between them Asareem sat staring through the screen with blank eyes. Suddenly she slammed her hand down on the surface of her desk, "Be quiet!" Her Ministers faltered into silence, the one on the left casting Kira poisonous glances, the other folding her hands meekly and lowering her eyes. "I assume you would not make such a statement without evidence to back it up. Very well, General Lenaris' DNA was found at the scene, surely there is some innocent explanation."

"If you can think of another reason why the General would go to a maintenance tunnel near the reactor core, then let's hear it. I can't think of one. It's hardly a scenic spot," said Lieutenant Ro, sailing straight over the edge of insubordination without a backward glance.

Kira frowned her down, and then turned back to the First Minister. "What the Lieutenant says is true," she stopped to take a breath. "And I have other reasons to suspect the General's involvement."

"Such as?" Asareem raised an eyebrow, looking down her nose at Kira.

"General Lenaris came to me on the day First Minister Shakaar arrived on the station and asked me to join the Ohalavaru. I refused." Kira forced herself to meet the First Minister's eyes squarely. "When I returned from my mission to Trill, General Lenaris threatened me. He made it clear that if I did not join the Ohalavaru he would discredit me and also ensure that the talks with Cardassia did not restart."

"Discredit you in what way?" asked Admiral Akaar, one eyebrow raised.

Kira sighed, "He said he would make it appear that I didn't release the Ohalu texts, that I'd stolen the credit from someone else."

There was silence; Kira could almost hear the busy scrabble of minds turning the idea over.

"But, how would that stop you," said Ezri, puzzled. "Surely it would be to your advantage to be disassociated from the texts, wouldn't that be the end of your attainder?"

Kira shook her head, "Perhaps, but it would finish my career as well. But, that doesn't matter as much as the threat to Cardassia."

"Why?" One of Asareem's Ministers spoke up, "You have as much reason as any Bajoran to hate the Cardassians, yet you not only aided them in their rebellion against the Dominion, but have pleaded for us to aid them when they are finally no threat to us."

"Because the Cardassians are survivors," said Kira, just barely keeping the exasperation out of her voice. "I have no doubt they will survive and grow, and if we don't help them, then at the first opportunity they will take what they want. As things stand, with no guarantee that we will enter the Federation," she turned her head to look directly at Asareem again, "First Minister, I fought too hard to see us occupied again."

Asareem Wadeen held her gaze for a long moment, then nodded, "Very well, but why is General Lenaris doing this? Not only are you accusing him of attempting to stop the talks between Cardassia and Bajor, something many of our people desire, but of blackmailing a senior member of the military into becoming a member of a divisive movement, murdering a Cardassian dissident and I assume, being in some way involved in the development of a disease that may be fatal to Cardassians. Beyond the feelings natural to any Bajoran who has survived the occupation what is his motive?"

"Some of your people have done as bad, or worse things during the occupation in the name of those feelings," interjected Admiral Akaar, "Colonel Kira for one."

Kira wondered grimly if he put her in the "as bad" or "worse" category.

The First Minister shook her head, "I know, but still, I can't believe it."

"Or won't," said Ro, just loud enough for Kira to hear.

"Then call him First Minister," said Kira. "Bring him to your office and see what he has to say."

The First Minister tapped her fingers on the surface of her desk. "Very well," she turned and spoke softly to the Minister on her left who pursed his lips disapprovingly, but turned and disappeared from view. "I saw the General late last night; he told me he was planning to sleep here, in his office because he had an early meeting. It will only take a few minutes to fetch him and I would like to speak to him privately first. I suggest we reconvene in half an hour."

"Very well First Minister," Kira nodded, "But please have security present, someone who does not report to General Lenaris.

The First Minister looked shocked beyond words at the suggestion, but nodded and the screen went dark. Kira stood there, staring at it, feeling like a soft toy leaking its stuffing.

There was a few seconds of frozen silence, then Ezri shifted in her chair, coughed and everyone came back to life. Admiral Akaar grunted and stood up, indicating that Dr. Bashir that should join him, "Please take me through your data Doctor."

Commander Vaughan leaned over and started talking quietly to Lieutenant Dax. Watching the easy way that Vaughan and Dax had together, Kira found herself feeling wistful, Dax hadn't been Jadzia for a long time now and even Ezri wasn't the Ezri she had first known, it made her feel lonely.

Then Ro stirred and stood up, "Well, that went better than expected."

Odo followed her, "Really? And when Lenaris says that visiting maintenance tubes is his hobby and the First Minister believes him?"

"Then," said Kira grim, but thankful for their support. "I get Macet to give evidence regarding Lenaris' attempts to blackmail him, no doubt ruining both our careers in the process."

Ro snorted, "And you think the First Minister is more likely to believe him than you?"

Kira opened her mouth to fire a few choice words at her Security Chief, but was interrupted by her communicator.

"Ops to Colonel Kira."

She tapped her comm. badge, "Kira here."

"Colonel, the Trager just docked, Gul Macet informs me that he has urgent information for you. Should I have him escorted to the Wardroom?"

Kira's stomach flip flopped and she had to resist the urge to glance at Odo, "Yes, immediately."

"Understood, Ops out."

"Speak of the Pah-Wraiths," said Ro, under her breath.

It only took a few minutes for Macet to arrive; he stood in the doorway, an odd smile playing about his lips, "Hello Colonel, and Odo! I've been dying to meet you, we have so much in common," he said, in a silky, drawling voice.

Kira felt herself flushing, it seemed Macet was in one of his "Dukat" moods, but she didn't have time to play silly games. "Did you find out anything about Lenaris?" she snapped, more sharply than she intended.

Macet raised a brow ridge, "Ah, it seems there is no time for pleasantries." He held out a padd. "Quite a tragic story," he said softly, in his more normal tone.

Kira skimmed through the information on the padd, aware that Ro and Odo were reading over her shoulder, and had to swallow hard. "Where did you get this?"

"In the end I went to see Garak," Macet smiled grimly, "this information was very well hidden."

"I'm not surprised," said Ro in an angry, horrified tone.

"It still doesn't excuse what Lenaris is planning," said Odo, shaking his head.

Macet looked from Odo, to Ro and back to Kira, "Really? If I was him, I think I'd want to isolate my people from the Cardassians, even if it meant destabilising my government to do it."

Kira found her eyes prickling and blinked hard, Macet's empathy was almost shocking under the circumstances. "Gul Macet," her voice stumbled over his formal title, "It isn't just that, he murdered Gila." She tried to say it gently but she saw his muscles tense and his fists bunch, "And we think he's been developing a virus that only infects Cardassians, it could be fatal." Even as she spoke she wondered if her words would be seen as treasonous, she'd had no permission to reveal any of this to the Cardassian Government, never mind a Gul that just happened to be a past and possibly future lover. "We're just waiting for the First Minister to contact us; she's talking to him now. If he denies it, we'll need you to give evidence."

Macet looked at her incredulously, "You think Bajorans will believe me?" he shook his head, "I can't wait here, my government must be told." He turned as if to leave, but Kira grabbed his arm.

"Wait, please," she swallowed, "The First Minister must be made to listen!"

She did not get to hear what Macet's reply would have been, the screen at the end of the room came to life without fanfare and framed the frightened face of First Minister Asareem, alone this time. "Colonel Kira! Ambassador Akaar! General Lenaris has vanished and he has left a message, such a message!" Her hands fiddled with something out of sight on her desk and a smaller image popped up in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

It was a recording of General Lenaris.

"By the time you get this message I will be on my way to Cardassia, carrying with me a bio weapon which I believe will wipe out the entire Cardassian population in the space of fourteen hours. There is no cure.

"Others loyal to me will travel to the remaining Cardassian settlements and outposts, spreading the disease as they go.

"I do this for Bajor. I had hoped to solve the Cardassian problem by more "diplomatic" means. However, I am aware that you have evidence linking me to the death of a Cardassian on Deep Space Nine. At this juncture I do not see the point in denying it. I killed her, she was a person of no importance who had outgrown her usefulness to me and I do not regret it.

"First Minister, I now address you directly. You have earned my respect, but I fear that the path you are determined to tread will lead to Bajor's destruction. I am sure that you will see this in time, but I must warn you, should you make any move to join the Federation, to re-open talks with the Cardassians, or to prevent me from carrying out my current mission, your life and the life of your whole cabinet will be forfeit. Bajor must stand alone. We greeted the Cardassians in friendship and what did it get us? Joining the Federation will be no different. First they will ask and then they will take, both our resources and our identity."

He sat for a moment longer, looking into the camera, as if he was trying to decide if there was anything else to say. Then he leaned forward, reaching for something and the screen went black.

"Admiral Akaar," said Asareem, shrilly, "You must send every Federation ship you have available."Not only are you closer but I dare not send Bajoran ships until we have conducted a full security sweep of this building. With his clearance he could bring anyone and anything right into the heart of our government."

Commander Vaughan didn't wait for Admiral Akaar to reply, instead he turned directly to Kira, "We're re-fitting the aft warp coils, the Defiant won't be space ready for two hours at least and the next nearest ship is the Gryphon, on her way to Betazed."

Kira nodded sharply, "Call her back, The Defiant and the Gryphon should make best speed to Cardassia Prime as soon as they can. I'm going ahead on the Trager; Lenaris didn't say anything about a Cardassian ship." She turned to Gul Macet, "I trust that's acceptable to you?" she said formally.

"Certainly Colonel," Macet nodded, copying her tone.

"Good," Kira tapped her comm. badge, "Lieutenant Nog, please send an engineering team to Docking Port four."

"An engineering team?" Macet looked at her baffled, "why do you want them along?"

"Because we're going to push your ship to its limits," said Kira, grimly.


	16. To hell in a handcart - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira, Macet and Odo go in pursuit of General Lenaris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along. Apologies for the wait, but I've drafted the rest of the story to the end, so it should be quicker now.
> 
> All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other, General Lenaris being a bad guy and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing, returned Orbs, Odo's return and the Parasite crisis comes from the books.
> 
> There is more Odo/Kira in this story than I anticipated, I apologise if that is not your thing.

**To hell in a handcart - Part 1**

It was not only an engineering team that joined the sparse Cardassian crew aboard the Trager. In addition to Colonel Kira and Odo, who'd simply followed along without bothering to ask permission, Kira took Dr. Bashir as well, giving him ten minutes to collect everything he might need to fight the virus from the Infirmary.

The only Cardassian, other than Macet, who seemed happy about all this was Glinn Gamiel, the Chief Engineer. He was overjoyed to have some experienced and competent help. The issues that had been solved by the previous Starfleet team were just the tip of the iceberg, Lieutenant Mahi'ai actually went a little grey when he saw the energy signature of the Trager's warp containment field, he went even greyer when Colonel Kira informed him that he'd have to hold the warp field together and fix everything else that could be fixed at maximum warp.

In the mean time, Kira, Macet and Odo held a counsel of war in Gul Macet's Office, which was doubling as his quarters and storage for all sorts of things, including some of the out of date field rations that Dr. Tarses had found so appalling.

"I'm sorry about the conditions," said Macet, like a waiter apologising for seating a last minute booking at a table by the kitchen door. He offered Kira his own chair and took a seat on one of the ration boxes, leaving Odo to fend for himself. "A third of the ship is closed off to conserve power, principally the cargo hold."

"Never mind that," said Kira. She tapped competently at Macet's work station and called up chart of the Bajoran/Cardassian sector, thankful to be with a Cardassian who didn't question her expertise with their systems. "At the Trager's current best speed we should reach Cardassia in seven hours. Assuming Lenaris left this morning, we might beat him there, however, if he left last night,-"

"I've already contacted Alon Ghemor," interrupted Macet, "the Cardassian sensor net, such as it is, has not been activated and there is no sign of any unusual illnesses on the planet. But populations are widely spread and medical services are patchy. We may not hear straight away."

"Alright, so we assume he hasn't got there yet." Kira zoomed in on a bright spot orbiting Cardassia, "If we assume a tight, retrograde orbit around the moon Letau and shut down main power, Lenaris should fly straight past us without even knowing we're there."

Macet raised his hand, "That's an excellent plan, except that if we shut down main power we shut ourselves down as well. We have no emergency power," he said off Kira's baffled look, "Our secondary power relays rely on Uridium filaments to ensure stable power distribution, our mining and refining capabilities are somewhat hampered at the moment," he smiled bleakly. "The engineering team you kindly provided when I was ill didn't have the right materials, or time to repair them, so they focussed on main power."

"In that case," said Odo, who'd been leaning on the door frame and staring at the wall, seemingly divorced from the conversation, "We'll light up Lenaris' sensor array like a Bajoran shrine candle."

"We could," mused Macet, "cut main power to everywhere but the bridge, engineering, transporter room one and the corridors in between. I'm carrying a small crew anyway so it shouldn't be too crowded."

Kira called up a schematic of the ship, "That would work; adding the new areas to those already shut down would reduce our power consumption to 18% of standard." She rapidly ran calculations and made an irritated noise, "We'd still be visible to Lenaris as soon as he enters the system."

"No we wouldn't," said Macet, triumphantly. "Letau's crust contains Phyllisite; it should scatter Lenaris' sensors."

Kira looked at Odo, who'd returned his attention to the wall and didn't seem to have anything further to say. "Alright," she turned back to Macet, "Your sensor array does seem to be fully functional, can we link with Cardassia's sensor net and then concentrate our own sensors on the larger holes?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes, at the moment nothing is certain."

Kira thought Odo made a very slight noise, but he was still  _still_  and focussed elsewhere when she glanced at him. "Assuming that we can, we should catch Lenaris long before he enters the system," she said, keeping her eyes on Odo.

He stirred, "And what do we do with him if we catch him?" he asked, roughly.

"Take him back to Bajor for trial," said Kira.

"Take him to Cardassia for trial," said Macet, simultaneously.

They looked at each other.

"Lenaris is a Bajoran citizen guilty of treason against his own government!" said Kira hotly.

"Lenaris is a Bajoran citizen guilty of attempting genocide against my people," replied Macet more calmly, "I think we have the greater claim."

Odo made a harrumphing noise that dripped with cynicism, "Why don't we catch him first,  _then_  we can hand him over to the Federation until your respective governments sort it out."

"Very well," said Macet.

Kira couldn't fathom why he would give in so easily; he caught her looking at him and responded with a pleasant smile that assured her he was open to reason on the subject.

She didn't believe in that smile.

"However deranged Lenaris might be," said Odo, interrupting her thoughts "he must realise that the entire Cardassian fleet will be looking for him. He must be expecting sensor sweeps."

Something tickled the back of Kira's mind, "What does your sensor net actually detect?" she asked Macet.

He cocked his head to one side and pursed his lips, "Warp or Impulse signatures, failing that energy spikes or objects large enough to be threat to the planet, such as asteroids. Why, what are you thinking of, a shuttle? That should be detected even if they switched off their engines and drifted through."

Kira shook her head, frustrated, "I don't know." She rubbed her eyes, "When the Gryphon reaches Cardassia I'll get them to re-enforce your sensor net."

"Hmm," Odo straightened up, "In the mean time I will go and have a chat with your weapons officer, I think I remember enough about Cardassian Weapons systems to be of use."

He left without a backwards glance and neither of them made any attempt to stop him, though Kira found herself staring absently at the closed door after he had gone.

Macet stood up, breaking her out of her revere, "Isn't he tactful," he said, rather sarcastically, "giving us some time alone."

Kira's stomach went cold; she moved her chair back and stood up herself, refusing to have him loom over her. "What are you planning to do with Lenaris?" she asked, if Macet wanted to get personal he would have to wait, she had to focus on the business at hand.

"I don't know what you mean," he replied, his eyes sliding away from hers.

Dukat would have said it silkily, Macet was trying, consciously or not, to imitate him, or perhaps what he thought of as the "Cardassian" manner. Kira wondered how many people he'd actually fooled and whether it explained why such a capable man had only risen so far. To her the defensiveness in his tone and body language was obvious, "When Odo talked about taking Lenaris into custody you gave in too easily. I know you're planning something."

Dukat would have denied it with a smile and a chiding talk about her lack of trust, Macet merely looked grim.

It suddenly occurred to Kira that she only saw the "Dukat" in Macet when he was trying to hide something, whether it was jealousy or the truth. She nearly laughed out loud, she'd been worrying that he'd been hiding himself from her, that he'd reveal himself to be as duplicitous and manipulative as his cousin. Instead he'd been trying to hide the man she'd started to care about, the honest, calm, respectful and sometimes very un-cardassian man who'd snuck under her skin.

Finally he looked at her, "He killed Gila," he said flatly, his eyes like dry pebbles. "He is threatening to kill my  _entire_  race."

Kira closed her eyes, trying to find the right words; she understood the desire for vengeance, even though she had done her best to put it behind her. Something she'd once said to Jadzia came back to her," When you take someone's life - you lose a part of your own as well."

He looked both baffled and irritated, "What?"

Kira sat down again, letting herself sag, "It's something I once said to a friend. When you kill someone, when it's personal, it's different. It's not like," she waved a hand in the air, "destroying a ship in a battle or blowing up a weapons store knowing people work there."

"What do you think I have been doing in the Military all this time?" said Macet, clearly angry and almost offended, as if she'd questioned his manhood. "I have killed face to face before; I've looked a man in the eye and sunk a blade into his chest."

Kira shook her head, frustrated at her inability to make him understand, "But was it personal? Did you kill him because of who he was, or what he had done, or was he just some soldier in a battle that you killed to stop him killing you?"

She could see him turning over what she'd said, frowning over it and without thinking she reached out for his hand, stroking her thumb across the back, under his knuckles. His face relaxed a little and he laced his fingers with hers.

"You know I'm going to try and take Lenaris into custody, don't you," she said, "even if you try to stop me."

He tugged on her arm, pulling her out of her chair and she went willingly, sliding her arm around his waist.

"I know," he said, looking down at her, "but we'll worry about that when we come to it."

His breath brushed her lips, like the promise of a kiss to come.

* * *

The Trager arrived at Cardassia Prime without incident, or any sign of Lenaris on long range sensors and took up its orbit around the planet's closest moon Letau. They were met by the two available, but both battered and ancient, Galor Class Warships that were all that stood on a day to day basis between Cardassia Prime and all comers.

The two Captains, both Frontier Gul's like Macet, clearly did not relish reporting their ship's tactical status with a Bajoran listening. Kira didn't take it personally, their reticence was motivated more by embarrassment than anti-Bajoran feeling, both ships were in a considerably worse state than the Trager.

Macet ordered both to retreat closer to Cardassia's sun, where they would be only a few minutes away by full impulse, but undetectable by short range sensors. Both Captains took their orders with dignity, but Kira could see the mortification in their eyes, everyone concerned knew that they were being got out of the way for their own and more importantly their ships, safety.

She wondered, if the ruling Ministers of Bajor, or even the everyday people in the Temple could see what Cardassia had been brought down to, would they come to feel for them the same way she had?

The Defiant arrived a little over an hour later and on Kira's orders cloaked herself and started patrolling the gaps in the sensor net. The Gryphon, not far behind was set to running diagnostics and beginning repairs.

The Trager stayed where it was, leaving the Gryphon, they hoped, the only ship visible to Lenaris on arrival. Its Captain, an Ardanan born and raised on Earth named Brianqu, had disguised her warp signature and weapons compliment with false signals and sensor echoes and was broadcasting fake, un-coded communications, making the Gryphon look like a scientific vessel on a purely technical mission of mercy.

All this, Captain Brianqu hoped, would lead Lenaris to severely underestimate the Gryphon. Which was a bad idea, since it was an Akira class heavy cruiser and (as Captain Brianqu put it) "loaded for bear".

Kira had never heard the expression before, but she got the gist.

With the Gryphon and Defiant at the sensor net and the Trager the last line of defence should Lenaris managed to pass them by, there was nothing to do now, but wait.

Odo had found a home at the secondary weapons consul. Macet, unsurprisingly, stuck with his Captain's chair and Kira mostly stood at his shoulder, wishing, not for the first time, that she'd remembered to change her formal heeled boots for her flat operational ones.

Hours passed. The Trager, Gryphon and Defiant kept up constant sensor sweeps looking for warp signatures or objects bulky enough to be ships and found nothing.

The Gryphon finished its diagnostics and started replicating and installing new parts to the sensor net.

The Defiant patrolled and the Trager sat.

More hours passed.

The crew on the Trager's bridge ate a simple, replicated, one hand needed meal where they stood and since the silence was getting oppressive Kira asked Macet why he was holding on to the out of date field rations in his office.

"Habit," he said, licking sauce from his fingers where his spicy meat pastry had leaked. "I've got so used to our replicators breaking down that I can't quite bring myself to rely on them." He slewed around to look at her, "Do you know a ship of this size only used to carry four days worth of field rations? It never actually occurred to the Quartermaster's division that there was any other use for them except for away missions. They told me to replicate more if I needed them, simply couldn't understand that we might eat them because the replicators had broken down."

Kira snorted, "Odo, do you remember that argument I had with Starfleet Security? When they wanted to shut down every bar and restaurant on the Promenade because the food shipments were a security risk? They couldn't understand that if we lost main power, those foodstuffs were all that would stop the Militia and civilian population from starving, because Starfleet, in their wisdom, had only provided emergency rations for the Starfleet personnel."

"I remember you called him a fat headed bureaucrat with more nose hair than brains, It took Sisko almost an hour to calm him down," replied Odo, with a grim smile.

"It wasn't anything like an hour," insisted Kira, ginning, "The lecture Sisko gave me afterwards might have lasted an hour. It certainly felt like it."

For a little while, the mood on the bridge lightened.

But, then more hours passed.

Eventually Captain Brianqu hailed them on a secure channel. Kira had first met her at a tactical briefing, just before the Dominion war and had found her both competent and impatient. Since she understood the first quality and sympathised with the second Kira made a point of not taking Brainqu's irascibility personally.

"Colonel Kira, we have plugged three of the main gaps in the sensor net and will make a start on some of the smaller ones. However, I have to question whether any ship could realistically pass through any of these gaps without being detected long before they were within weapons range of the planet! Are you  _certain_  that Cardassia Prime is the intended target? Many of their colonies are far more sparsely protected."

"I understand your reasoning," replied Kira. "But a specific threat was made naming Cardassia Prime as the first target." She frowned, considering what the Captain had said, "When you say "any ship" what size of ship are you talking about?"

"Well," Captain Brianqu bridled, "Anything larger than a small shuttle and even then, the energy signature of the engines would be recognised, a ship would have to cut engines a long way out and propel themselves with thrusters only, it would take them  _weeks_."

Something niggled at the back of Kira's mind again, something about a journey from Bajor to Cardassia that should have took weeks, if not months. "Stand by Captain," she went over to the bridge's science station. A very young Cardassian woman looked up at her with something approaching alarm. "Perform a sensor sweep at these co-ordinates, I want you to scan for tachyons, particularly eddies or trails."

"Yes Colonel," the woman's hands hovered uncertainly over her consul, but she started to tap in commands, increasing in confidence and speed as she went along.

Kira felt a presence at her back and realised that Macet was looking over her shoulder, "What are you looking for?" he asked, quietly.

"It's just a hunch and even if I'm right,-" she trailed off, focusing on the results of the science officer's scans.

The consul beeped, "There!" the officer pointed to a highlighted portion of space immediately surrounding Cardassia Prime. "A trail of Tachyons passing through the sensor net in grid alpha six zero just over four hours ago."

"Extrapolate a course," barked Macet.

"Uh," the woman's fingers darted across her consul and different courses plotted and re-plotted themselves on the screen as she adjusted the variables. "It looks like it's heading straight for CardassiaCity. It's travelling very slowly," she looked around, "ETA to target, three hours, eight minutes."

"Lay and in engage a pursuit course, full impulse," called Macet, turning sharply and making for the Ops station. "Recall the Garvok, Trapor and the Defiant."

"Course laid in and engaged Captain," called the helm.

"Garvok, Trapor and Defiant report they will rendezvous with us at the co-ordinates given Captain," said the comms. officer, "ETA five minutes."

The rolling vista of Cardassia's moon and it's surrounding stars slewed away and Kira felt her stomach lurch and tapped her comm. badge sharply, "Kira to Lieutenant Mahi'ai, what's the condition of the inertial dampeners?"

"Mahi'ai here," replied the leader of the Federation engineering team Kira had brought aboard. "Functional but threatening to fail is the best way to describe them, I have a team on them now," his tone was very apologetic.

"Tell them to work quickly. Kira out."

"We should be on them in eighty six seconds," said Macet, looking over the shoulder of the Officer at Ops. He straightened up, "Stand by weapons."

"Weapons standing by, phasers at seventy two percent, torpedoes locked," replied the weapons officer.

"Captain, you realise that those two torpedoes represent your entire complement?" said Odo.

Macet sat back down in his chair, his face inscrutable, "I do Constable."

There was a pregnant silence, Kira bent down until her mouth was level with Macet's ear, " _Two_  torpedoes?" she said softly.

He nodded, "This might be a good time for you to tell me what we are looking for."

Kira straightened up, "A light ship, an ancient type of Bajoran space vessel that uses solar sails for propulsion."

Macet looked at her, over his shoulder, his brow ridges up, "The ship that Captain Sisko flew from Bajor to Cardassia some years ago?"

Kira nodded, "I don't think Lenaris likes modern things. So far we know he's used a pre-occupation phaser and a pre-occupation stasis tube. I don't think there is any warp or even impulse capable ships left from before the occupation. But a lightship can be built by anyone with moderate engineering skills, from resources found only Bajor." She shrugged, "If I'm right, then I think this is a statement."

Macet tapped his index finger on the arm of his chair. "I don't remember much about the Captain's journey, but didn't the first part take days?"

Kira shook her head, frustrated, "I know, it's not consistent, but we've seen Lenaris use modern technology. Maybe he uses old technology when he can, but when he can't," she shrugged again. "Perhaps another ship dropped the Lightship off just outside Cardassian space, it would explain why we haven't seen any sign of it, they were long gone before we got here." Her eyes widened, "You'd better contact the Cardassian ships patrolling your colonies and outposts and tell them what to look for."

Macet span on his heel towards the comms. officer, "Hail all Cardassian outposts and colonies on a secure channel," he snapped. Once a channel was open he gave a brief summary of the situation and what to look for. "Replay that message until further notice."

"Coming into visual range," said the helmsman, over the top of the comms. officer's, "Aye sir".

"On screen," said Kira and Macet together.

A lightship, identical at first glance to the one Captain Sisko had built, appeared on the screen. However, as she looked closer, Kira realised that there was something hanging beneath the craft, something long, pod like, almost torpedo shaped.

As she watched the "something" detached from the underside of the vessel and its engine flared orange. "That's an impulse drive," she shouted, before she could stop herself.

"Weapons," shouted Macet "Helm pursuit course, I want to know what's inside that vessel, stand by tractor beam."

There was a chorus of "Aye Captains" from around the bridge.

The phasers sliced across the view screen, but the pod had already been on the edge of weapons range. Unharmed it curved down towards the planet, the Trager in steep pursuit.

"Where is the Defiant?" Kira asked, gripping the back of Macet's chair as the inertial dampeners responded sluggishly.

"On her way," replied Odo. "ETA, 16 seconds."

Kira shook her head, "Too late!" They weren't gaining on the pod; if anything it was accelerating away. Cardassia Prime began to loom large in the view screen.

Alarms began to blare. "Collision warning!" someone shouted. The ship seemed to jump forwards and then back, explosions popped and boomed from somewhere behind them, metal ground against metal, then everything  _screamed_.

Kira picked herself up off the floor and found the view screen was now black except for buzzing lines of static. She did a high speed personal injury review that basically went "Nothing hurts, everything works, good," and tried to focus on what was happening through the jets of sparks and billowing steam. "What hit us?" she shouted over the bellowing klaxons, shielding her eyes from another shower of sparks.

"I think it was the lightship," Odo shouted back. The ship was juddering and he was gripping his console to keep from losing his seat. "We passed very close to it, I think it attached itself to the hull and exploded, if I had sensors I could tell you more." There was a grinding, shrieking noise from somewhere above, everyone looked up, then the primary weapons consul flared eye searing blue and a arc of energy sent the Cardassian weapons officer flying backwards, with a sharply cut off screech.

He lay there, trembling, blue energy dancing on his skin like some kind of St Elmo's fire.

Odo barely spared him a glance, "Captain, shields are down to thirty one percent, phasers and torpedo launchers offline," he shouted as someone called for a medic.

"Engineering reports damage to our impulse engines," the Ops officer called out next, "thrusters are offline. We are caught in the planet's gravity well, at this angle of descent we will break up on entry to the atmosphere."

"Are transporters working?" bellowed Macet, he'd kept his seat, but Kira could see that something had caught his cheek and a bruise was already blooming there.

The officer at Ops slewed around, one hand pressed to a cut on his face that was dribbling blood all down his armour, "Yes sir, at least some of them, but the chances are the coils will burn out after the first transport."

Macet stood up, "All non essential crew to stand by at escape pods. Hail the Defiant, have them tractor the ship to safety, but if that isn't possible I am ordering all hands to abandon ship. Send a security team to join me in transporter room one." He looked from Kira to Odo, "Are you coming?" He didn't stop to hear their replies but led the way off the bridge and down a corridor to the nearest transporter room, where they found a harassed looking transporter operative and a squad of six Cardassian soldiers.

"Captain," the transporter operator cried, "We only have four functional pads! The other transporter room has been badly damaged, we don't even know if we can access it."

"You," said Macet, stabbing a finger towards a compact Cardassian standing a little separate from the group. You come with us, the rest follow as soon as possible, by transporter if you can, if not take a shuttle. He went to the controls and fed in the co-ordinates of the pod's landing site and joined Kira, Odo and the Cardassian soldier on the platform.

"Energise," he said.


	17. To hell in a handcart - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira, Macet and Odo continue to purse Lenaris on Cardassia Prime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along. Apologies for the wait, but I've drafted the rest of the story to the end and this will the third chapter posted in three days.
> 
> All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other, General Lenaris being a bad guy and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing, returned Orbs, Odo's return and the Parasite crisis comes from the books.
> 
> There is more Odo/Kira in this story than I anticipated, I apologise if that is not your thing.
> 
> I don't have a beta, I read through over and over, edit and fiddle but some stuff will slip through.

**To hell in a handcart - Part II**

The transporter room shimmered out of existence and was replaced by a barren landscape of scorched earth. Orange dust hung heavy in the hot air and made her cough. She turned, looking for Lenaris or his agent and almost gasped.

The towering gates of the city loomed behind her, it was impossible to say at what distance, there was nothing nearby to give a sense of scale. One tower leaned drunkenly, blasted away on one side and barely winning a battle with gravity on the other. The "claw", that seemed to decorate the apex of so much Cardassian architecture, hung poised to pinion anyone who dared to pass beneath it.

She'd been in the city when the Dominion attacked, supporting Damar's rebellion, but she'd been too busy, too involved to actually look at what had been done, or maybe it was because she had never seen the ruined city from the outside, from the distance.

There wasn't a whole building left; most were just mountainous piles of rubble and the dust that made the air outside almost orange hung in filthy brown clouds above them.

"Over there!" Odo's voice made her jump, he was pointing to the left, having stretched himself to three times his height to get a good view.

Macet led the way at a run, they scrambled over a bank of loose earth that stuck greasily to Kira's fingers and emitted a heavy metallic miasma that she could taste more than smell.

Beneath them was a wide depression, clearly an impact crater. In the centre sat the pod, empty, the top half split down the middle and open to the sky. Inside there was a depression, moulded to hold a single humanoid and a storage locker, also open.

Kira drew her phaser, as did Macet and the Cardassian soldier, but it was Odo again who spotted the trail of footprints heading towards the city. Following him they found themselves looking down on what must have been a path to the city gates; the loose soil was broken by footprints and patches of yellow were showing through, where the treads of the traveller's boots had carried the earth away.

Ahead of them, perhaps four hundred meters away they could see a figure, running at full tilt.

"Odo!" Kira shouted.

Without a word he transformed into a bird and flew towards the fleeing figure. Before he could reach him, the runner stopped, turned and fired his weapon.

Odo banked and wheeled, dodging the shots easily. He made no attempt to land, but simply forced the runner to stay where he was, giving the others a chance to catch up.

It was General Lenaris, as they got closer Kira recognised the ruddy gleam of his hair and his stance, his head slightly hunkered down on his neck.

Lenaris knew they were coming, he span fast and fired three blasts in their direction, causing them to throw themselves face down on the ground before turning his phaser back to target Odo.

Still firing upwards he quickly crouched, placing an object he'd had tucked under his arm on the ground, touching it briefly on the side before standing up again.

Kira scrambled to her feet a little behind Macet and the Cardassian soldier who were both running at full speed towards Lenaris, firing their phasers as they went. Kira knew that it was almost impossible to hit a target at that distance while you were running, so kept her weapon holstered.

As they closed the distance Lenaris sent one more blast after Odo, before turning to face his pursuers and, Kira was certain, smiling. Then he vanished in the swirling, twinkling motes of a transporter beam.

Macet almost howled in fury, but Kira threw herself straight down beside the device, skidding to a halt on her knees. It was a rectangular box, about the size Kira's boots came in when she requisitioned new uniform. The sides and base were solid metal, but the top was made of a clear material that allowed her to see the inner workings.

What she saw was a metal canister, connected to a tube, that ended in a nozzle set flush in the clear top of the box. There was no control panel, not even a button. Whatever Lenaris had used to set it up, he'd taken it with him.

Next to the canister was a square, metal box on which a white light was blinking. It looked uncomfortably like a countdown, but gave no indication of how long they had. "Macet," she shouted over her shoulder, "you and your man need to get out of the way." She picked up some soil and let it trickle through her fingers, noting where it fell. "If this is the delivery system for the virus then it's probably airborne, you need to go that way, downwind," she pointed behind her. Not bothering to check if they had obeyed her she slapped her comm. badge. "Kira to Defiant."

"Vaughan here," answered the Commander, "You'll be pleased to hear that we've managed to tractor the Trager out of danger."

"Good," said Kira shortly, "I believe we have the virus delivery system." She opened her tri-corder and scanned the device, "can you link to my tri-corder readings?"

"We're working on it," said the disembodied voice of her second in command.

"Colonel, this is Lieutenant Caharn," said a new voice after a few moments, "The device is fitted with a compressed Triceron explosive designed to rupture the canister if it's tampered with, ensuring the contents are disseminated, even if less effectively. Pressure is steadily building inside the canister; I assume that once a preset pressure is reached the virus will be released. It's simple, but effective."

"Can we transport it?" asked Odo.

"Probably not without tripping the explosive," replied Caharn.

"What about containing it?" asked Macet, revealing that he'd completely ignored what Kira had said and was actually standing right behind her.

Kira looked up at him, not understanding at first, "Of course!" She stood up, "Lieutenant, if we set up portable force field generators can we contain the virus when it's released?"

"Uh, yes," said the Lieutenant uncertainly, "Medical force fields would work. We'd better be quick though, there isn't a clock with seconds ticking away but I don't think we have long."

"Then you'd better move fast," said Kira, pointedly, "And bring something that will produce Baryon radiation inside the force field."

"Yes Colonel, of course, Baryon kills everything!"

"You don't say," muttered Kira, under her breath.

There was silence for a moment, then Commander Vaughan spoke again, "They're on their way Colonel, ETA three minutes. I'm sending a security team along with them. We're attempting to scan the planets surface for Bajoran life signs, but the background radiation from the Dominion's weapons is still scrambling our sensors even after all these months. It's one thing looking for someone when we know exactly where they are, but this is needle in a haystack territory. We're going to have to use a narrow scan and just hope he stands still right underneath it."

Macet spoke up, "How else can we find him?" he waved an arm at the city, "He may be setting more of these devices as we speak."

Kira shook her head, "I don't think so, the container in the pod couldn't hold more than one of these. But you're right, we need to find him." She turned her head to look at Odo, "Can you fly again?"

He didn't even nod, just simply stretched and then compressed himself into a hawk and flew away.

"Do you  _really_  think that one bird can find him?" snapped Macet.

"I don't know," returned Kira, sharply. "Perhaps we should get  _your_  people looking."

She thought she could hear him grinding his teeth, but he retreated a little way and she caught snatches of his conversation with Alon Ghemor's office and central military command.

After what felt like far more than three minutes, eight beams of light coalesced into four officers in science blue and six armoured security officers in gold.

One of the science officers, a Bolian Kira recognised as Caharn, started giving rapid orders to the other three, who positioned their force field generators in a fairly equilateral triangle around the device. Once it was done to Caharn's satisfaction she placed something that Kira vaguely identified as a piece of medical equipment next to the box and stepped back.

"Force field generators at 6.9 hertz?" asked Caharn and waited for each of her team to verbally confirm the setting, "Force field diameter of two meters centring on the device?" Again Caharn waited for confirmation, "Good, deploy on my mark, 3,2,1, mark."

There was a blue tinged flicker and soil puffed up in a circle roughly two meters across, indicating that the force field had penetrated the ground.

"Confirm field integrity at 100%." Caharn looked up and gave Kira a faintly nervous smile. "The device is contained Colonel."

Kira drew a deep breath, realising that she'd been breathing shallow when the extra oxygen made her dizzy and the dust in the air made her cough. "Well done, once it's triggered I want you to release the Baryon radiation. When you're certain the virus is completely eradicated, try and trigger the explosive. I want that thing completely destroyed."

"Yes Colonel," Caharn turned away.

Kira walked over to join Macet, who'd finished talking and joined the circle of security officers surrounding the scientific team. "There should be no further danger, at least from this device."

"Why wasn't it set to release the virus as soon as he reached the surface of the planet?" he asked her, his jaw tight.

Kira shrugged, "He expected to have more time, I suppose he thought that no-one would think of a light ship. The device is just a variable pressurised container with a valve, in a box with a bomb. It's almost all mechanical, I suppose he didn't want to start it up until he got down here in case it failed and released the virus before he'd even reached the surface."

"For someone who prefers ancient technology he doesn't seem to have much faith in it," said Macet, bitterly.

"Hmm," Kira squinted towards the gates of the city, scanning the sky above for a particular bird. "What concerns me is what he's doing now."

Macet let a breath go through his nose, but before he could answer his communicator made a sound, "Gul Trevik to Gul Macet."

"This is Macet," Macet cocked his head on one side.

"Three light ships have been detected and destroyed, one approaching Goralis, another Kelvas and a third at Torros, in addition we have received word that a light ship has been found on the surface of Orias."

"Understood," said Macet and closed the comm. line.

Kira looked at Macet, puzzled, "I didn't think there was a big population of Cardassians on any of those planets, aren't they all ship yards and military bases that were destroyed during the Dominion War?"

Macet turned to look at her, a bleak look in his eyes, "Not entirely destroyed. There was enough infrastructure left to set up refugee camps for Cardassian's fleeing from the colonies the Romulans annexed. Orias even had a basic hospital; there are over sixteen thousand Cardassian's there."

"I'm sorry." Kira reached out to grip his shoulder, attempting to communicate some form of comfort but conscious that they were in public. "I'll have Commander Vaughan contact Starfleet Medical."

Macet shook off her hand, and walked away, heading for the city gates.

"Macet," she called after him, "where are you going?"

"To find Lenaris," replied Macet, over his shoulder. "Ghemor wants time to assess the situation before sending in troops, I won't waste it."

Kira looked behind her, at the circle of security guards and the science team standing inside them. There was little more that she could do here, but going into a blasted city in search of one man, it was a ridiculous idea.

She stood there for a moment, undecided, then walked over to one of the Starfleet security Officers and placed her left foot alongside his right, "What size boots do you take?"

* * *

Kira trotted after Macet, two field kits over her shoulder, moving much faster than she would have done in her heeled boots. She wondered if the Security Officer was still standing way behind her in his bare feet, or whether he'd tried her boots on.

"Macet," she shouted, causing him to stop and wait for her. "I'm coming with you," she puffed to a halt beside him and held out a field kit, "Rations, water, basic medical supplies."

He accepted it with a nod and they jogged together towards the city.

It was further to the gates than even Kira had guessed. As they went she checked in with Commander Vaughan, letting him know what they were doing.

"I wouldn't advise that Colonel," was his reply. "I don't need to tell you that Cardassia city was hit harder than anywhere else other than Lakarian, the last estimates puts the remaining population at two hundred and fifty thousand down from twenty four million and most of them will be living in desperate circumstances."

"I understand your concern Commander, that's why I'm not ordering an entire security squad into the city, we'd start a riot, not to mention that Ghemor might have something to say about it. I doubt we'll find Lenaris, but there's a better chance that we can get in and out without making the situation worse. Don't tell me you never did anything like this when you worked for Starfleet Intelligence."

She heard Vaughan sigh down the comm. line, "Very well Colonel, we'll try and keep an active lock on you."

"Understood, keep up your scans, you're still our best chance of finding him. Kira out." She squinted ahead, the sun was in her eyes, quite low in the sky and behind the gates the city looked dark and cavernous. "How long until sunset?"

"Three hours," replied Macet. He'd slowed to a walk as they approached the gates. "I should tell you now that the Defiant won't be able to maintain a lock on you once we enter the city; we're unlikely to be able to establish a comm. signal either."

Kira stopped walking, "Why?"

Macet pointed up at the gates, gleaming dully in the failing light, "There's Jevonite inlaid into almost all the older buildings, I don't know why but it interferes with electronic signals. Before the Jem Hadar destroyed the city there was a network of signal relays, if we're very lucky we might stumble into an area where one is still working, but I doubt it."

"Hmm," Kira squinted up at the city, her hands on her hips; she'd entered hostile places before with little or no information and even less back up, but not often and only in desperate circumstances. "Alright," she sighed, "how well do you know the city?"

"The city as it was?" he shrugged. "My house was in the Torr Sector," he pointed to the North. "My wife liked living there, it was considered to be the cultural hub, lots of theatres and artists and musicians and  _restaurants,_ " he finished, sourly. "I was rarely home and when I was I stayed in barracks in the Akleen Sector," he pointed to the East.

"Right," Kira pondered, "Torr was heavily populated, there would be places to scavenge food and he's not going to want to be seen, Akleen would be better, I remember it was probably the hardest hit sector of the city, where would you start looking?"

Macet frowned, considering, "Even if he doesn't want to be seen, he'd want to see. There's a hospital still partially standing and manned in the Paldar Sector, anyone wanting medical assistance would go there and he's going to be expecting sick Cardassians."

"It sounds as good a place to start as any, lead on," Kira gestured towards the gates.

They walked on in silence, the shadow of the gate's still whole western tower chasing them as the sun dipped quickly behind the city. As they passed through the gate Kira felt her back go cold and looked behind her. The shadow of the tower was now a solid bar across the road, as if the gate had closed behind them, trapping them inside.

Throwing off the uncomfortable feeling it gave her, Kira followed Macet into the darkness.

* * *

A few hours later Kira kicked in the door to the basement of a blasted bakery and half led, half dragged Macet down the stairs.

She let him drop in front of a pile of masonry and used her phaser to heat the stones, turning them into a radiator. Then she dropped down behind him and curled her body around his back.

"Why didn't you tell me you weren't coping with the cold?" she said irritably in his ear.

"Didn't know," he slurred, "never happened before."

"Hmm," she said, in a kinder tone, she'd been uncomfortably cold herself as the last of the day's warmth had drained away from the city. "Maybe the buildings used to hold the heat."

"Steam pipes," said Macet, more distinctly, as if he'd only just remembered, "under the streets."

"That makes sense," Kira started rubbing his arms, hoping to improve the circulation, "No doubt all the infrastructure was destroyed when the Dominion attacked." They lay there for a while, Kira getting colder as if Macet was draining all her heat away.

Eventually she realised that she'd have to move, she touched Macet's neck, his skin was returning to its usual grey, loosing the blue green tinge of approaching hypothermia and he wasn't so clammy, "Are you feeling better?"

He started, as if she'd woken him from a doze and wriggled away towards the subsiding glow of the stones, then he forced himself up into a sitting position.

"Yes, much," he said formally, not looking at her.

She examined the back of his head thoughtfully, "I'm going to get some more water from the broken pipe we saw and then we'll eat," she said. "I'll only be a few minutes."

He hunched his shoulders and didn't reply, so she used her phaser to reheat the stones and then headed up the stairs, wondering if he was always such a prideful idiot when anyone tried to help him. At the top she had to pick her way through the rubble before reaching a broad thoroughfare that was fairly clear. A few meters to the left was a pipe, protruding from a wall and emitting a steady trickle of water. She filled both their bottles, doing it awkwardly with her back to the wall so she could see if anyone was coming.

They'd encountered several Cardassians on their journey so far, most had shrunk away from them, but one old man had run towards them, screaming gibberish and trying to scratch her face. Macet had caught his hands gently, but firmly and sat him down, talking to him for some minutes until the man calmed and began to rock himself back and forth, crooning softly. Finally Macet had given him a ration pack and a water pouch from his field kit and their last sight of the old man was him shuffling away through the rubble, happily waving his half eaten meal in the air.

"He thinks it was Bajor who attacked the city in revenge for the occupation," said Macet apologetically, "he's very confused."

"I understand," said Kira simply, "it's alright."

But it wasn't alright. Some of the main streets were still blocked and when they turned into a side street they found the desiccated and scavenged remains of Cardassians of all ages, piled up like swept up leaves. Kira wanted to ask why nothing had been done, but she didn't have to, Macet answered her thought before she could speak it out loud.

"All of the cities were hit, the whole planet, but Cardassia city was the worst. Alon Ghemor believes we should direct what little resources we have to the smaller cities and towns where the damage was not so great. We tried to get people to leave here, but many wouldn't go." He took out his own weapon, set it to its highest setting and fired. The bodies vanished into nothing and they went on their way.

Since the sun had gone down they'd seen less and less people on the street and now Kira understood why, even though her uniform had thermal properties there was a sharp and icy wind blowing through the streets that seemed to cut straight through Inkarian wool, it had to be torture to Cardassians.

The wind caught the dribbling water and the stream curved away from the open mouth of her water container and splashed her hand. She swore quietly, under her breath, wiping her hand on her uniform trousers.

Some dust drifted down from above, causing her to look up.

A Bajoran was looking down at her.


	18. To heaven in a little row boat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief interlude, in Kira and Macet's pursuit of Lenaris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along. Apologies for the wait, but I've drafted the rest of the story to the end and I can go quicker now.
> 
> All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other, General Lenaris being a bad guy and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up) is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing, returned Orbs, Odo's return and the Parasite crisis comes from the books.
> 
> There is more Odo/Kira in this story than I anticipated, I apologise if that is not your thing.
> 
> This isn't beta'd, I edit, fiddle and read over and over, but stuff will slip though.

**To Heaven in a little row boat**

The Bajoran's face was partially in shadow, emphasising the ridges on his nose and she scrabbled for her phaser. Suddenly, like a trick picture revealing itself to be a pair of faces in profile (and not just a white vase) she realised that the shadowy, dull red halo surrounding his head wasn't hair, but the headdress of a Bajoran cleric.

His name was Borla and he turned out to be a cheerful, practical man, to the point of standing out quite sharply against a backdrop of other, more conventional clerics. Few would have set up their temple in the cavernous hall of an ancient Cardassian theatre that had once specialised in erotic performances, but as Borla had pointed out to his flock of Ranjens, it was the most stable and intact building in the sector and was more than large enough for their purposes.

He'd also pointed out that the few remaining frescos, surviving only because they were hidden in the back premises, were anatomically instructive if nothing else. "Pleasure is a gift from the Prophets!" he reminded them, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "And they're hundreds of years old, think of them as historic!"

He was part of the first wave of Bajoran's to come to Cardassia, fired up by Vedek Yevir's idea of an exchange of religious figures and was accompanied by eight Ranjens, two of whom were Doctors. Between them they set up a basic medical facility and relief station, supplied by a small replicator powered by solar panels during the day and a small wind generator at night. It was only capable of replicating simple items, such as blankets, bandages and basic food stuffs, but compared to the rest of the sector, the Bajoran's temple was a haven.

Kira had hung back when they'd reached the threshold; Macet, lightly supported between two Ranjen's was whisked inside to get warm, but she just couldn't bring herself to follow him.

"What's the matter?" Borla's head poked back out around the door.

"This is a temple, I can't come in," she pointed at the spot where her earring was conspicuously missing. "Is there somewhere nearby that I can shelter?"

He stepped outside, pulling his robes tightly around him, "Firstly this isn't even a properly sanctified Temple, secondly even if it was, what do think would happen, that we'd all burst into flames?" He snorted, "Don't be ridiculous, the Prophets, or aliens, or whatever they are have better things to worry about. Thirdly, Yevir is a pious idiot, who only ever had one good idea, and attainting you wasn't it."

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "I can see why they sent you here, did you say that to his face?"

"Yes. But, they didn't send me, I volunteered, this is Yevir's one good idea," said Borla, grinning. "I go where there's trouble, it stops me making it." He held out a hand to her, "Come on."

Kira took his hand and followed him inside.

She found Macet sat in front of a portable heating unit, wrapped in a blanket and sipping some broth from a bowl. The walk to the Temple had almost sucked all the heat back out of him, but he was recovering far more quickly this time.

"I was taught that the animals we evolved from hibernated during the winter," he said, putting his bowl down. "I think they had the right idea."

"How do you feel?" asked Kira, sitting down next to him.

"Much better," he sighed, "though I'm amazed that any Cardassians are surviving in the city at all."

Kira laid a hand briefly on his shoulder, "Borla tells me that some of the older buildings are heated independently by hot springs, like this one. Most of the survivors have their own shelter, but a few families are living here permanently."

They sat quietly for a while, examining their surroundings; the theatre was largely subterranean, which explained why it had come through the Dominion attack relatively unscathed. Even so, some of the roof had caved in and the Bajorans had roped off sections that were still under threat of falling masonry.

Kira and Macet were sitting on the edge of the main stage which was circular and central to the cavernous room. It was surrounded by seating, partially in tiered rows, but also individual tables varying in size from intimate tables for two to ones that could seat more that twenty people with comfort. It had remained a theatre to the day the Dominion attacked, hosting a variety of plays and musical performances, its more "exotic" acts consigned to the history books.

Some of the tables hade been appropriated by individual families, personal possessions were stored underneath and Kira could even see children and babies sleeping in amongst the bags and bundles in nests of blankets.

"I think Alon Ghemor was wrong," said Macet, sounding depressed.

"You're probably right," said Kira with grim humour, "Politicians usually are, but what do you mean?"

"We shouldn't have left the people here to fend for themselves. What will happen once they're no longer frightened of starving or freezing to death? They'll start asking where their government was when they needed them, why we left them to die. When they are strong again, what do you think they will do?"

Kira shrugged, "I don't know."

"I think you do," said Macet, glumly. "They'll look at the rest of Cardassia like the Bajorans looked at the occupying Cardassians. We're looking at the seeds of civil unrest, perhaps even war."

Kira looked around the room again, trying to understand what he was seeing. "I suppose so," she said doubtfully. "I've never had much time to think about the future, there's usually more than enough to worry about in the present." She frowned, "You talk like you  _know_  what will happen."

He shrugged, "Cardassian Officers are expected to be educated, I studied Military, Political and Social History at Culat." He waved a hand at the room, "This is depressingly familiar."

She looked around again, "It is," she said quietly, "I was a child somewhere like this."

They fell silent for a while, watching the Cardassian's and the Bajorans going about their business together quite peaceably. Eventually Kira went to get her own broth and stood talking to Borla while she drank it. When she was finished she came back to Macet who seemed too apathetic to move.

"Apparently there is a "temple" like this in every sector of the city," she said, sitting back down. "Borla's going to contact them all and see whether anyone has seen Lenaris, but it will have to wait until morning, their communicators aren't working any better than ours and they'll have to send runners. They'll also send someone to the city gates to see if they can contact the Defiant."

Macet grunted, "So we're stuck here until goodness knows when tomorrow."

Kira shrugged, "It's warm and there's food and if we keep moving we might be going in the wrong direction. We need information."

"Oh, very well," he said, tetchily. He looked around, "Where are we supposed to sleep?"

Kira pointed upwards, above the tiered seating area, at a stack of "boxes", viewing rooms that she supposed were for theatre goers who wanted to watch the shows in private. "Borla suggested up there, it's quiet and warm, the clerics use them as private sleeping and meditation rooms when they're not on duty." She stood up, "Come on, I'm tired even if you're not."

The boxes were reached by a curving flight of stairs that had survived unscathed, other than losing portions of their banisters. Borla had been right, they were very warm and Kira put most of the blankets she'd been given on the ground to make a sleeping pad.

They lay down separately, without speaking. Macet settled on his back, his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. Kira got comfortable on her side, pillowing her head on her arm and looking at him.

He was obviously not going to make any attempt to touch her and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. On the one hand, though Odo wasn't with them, he was in the Alpha quadrant and she still felt that while he was, she shouldn't be thinking about Macet in that way.

Odo had always taken her lead when it came to the more sexual components of their relationship and if he was concerned that she hadn't initiated anything since his return, he hadn't said so. They'd shared a great deal of affectionate touching and loving words, and it had been wonderful, but something had held her back from seeking sexual gratification from him. Now she had to face the fact that the something, or rather the someone, was lying half a meter away, refusing to look at her.

She examined his profile, wondering how he would react if she tried to touch him. He'd made no actual, physical move towards her that wasn't strictly necessary since they'd been alone in his office aboard the Trager and even then he'd released her quickly, before she could take the kiss he'd seemed to be promising.

She'd been too busy to think about it since, but now, knowing that there would be hours before they could move on, she couldn't think of anything else.

Her eyes drifted down, focussing on his neck. She could see his pulse beating in the little spot under his neck ridge where the skin was at its thinnest, it had fascinated her since she'd first realised her interested in him.

She wondered if he'd bruise there, if she sucked, or used her teeth.

She wondered if he'd like it.

He shifted uncomfortably, breaking her out of her revere and she realised he'd laid down in his armour. "Do you always sleep in that?" she indicated his breast plate.

He turned his head and gave her an incredulous look, "You know I don't, it's just sensible to do so in this sort of situation."

She nodded, what he said was true on the face of it, though she didn't have any armour with her to sleep in, she wouldn't dream of undressing to sleep in the circumstances. "But, will you actually be able to get any sleep?"

He sighed, irritably, "I don't know, it isn't something I've had to do much lately."

"In that case take it off," said Kira. "You'll be dangerous to us both tomorrow if you're exhausted and I don't want to be kept awake by your fidgeting."

He pulled a face but sat up and started un-clipping his breast plate, as he was working on his last clasp he noticed her watching him and his eyes narrowed. "Are you genuinely concerned for my comfort or did you just want me to undress?"

She thought he was teasing, but there was enough truth in what he said to make her flush a little. "Your comfort of course," she said gruffly.

"Of course," he said, in a gently mocking tone and put his armour behind him. He laid down again, this time on his side, looking at her.

She had to smile, "Alright, I have been thinking about us."

"And what did you conclude?" he asked courteously, as if he was asking her opinion on a blend of tea.

"Hmm," she bit her lower lip, "Nothing much, I got too busy looking at that spot just there," she reached out and brushed his pulse point with one fingertip, liking that it made him tense and hiss softly.

He caught her wrist, gently pulling her fingers away, "It must be catching," he said, a little roughly, "Your neck is one of  _my_  favourite spots." He let her hand go and she let it fall, just shy of his own.

They stared at each other for a long moment. He was clearly going to leave the "lead" to her, so she wriggled closer, putting herself in reach. "One of them? What are the others?"

He lifted his hand and let it hover, his eyes flickering. "From here to here, _"_ his hand skimmed, a breath of air between his palm and her body.

"Show me properly," she commanded and pushed his hand down.

His eyes remained undecided and his hand didn't move for a long time, finally he shifted a little closer and she felt his fingers flex before his palm began to slide. "Yes Colonel," he said, all mock subservience, "from here to  _here_."

Her mouth dropped open and her eyelids fluttered. "I see," she said, her voice catching, "anywhere else?"

 _"Here,"_ his hand cupped and squeezed gently.  
  
Her neck arched back, beckoning his mouth _._

It didn't make sense to undress, but they did it anyway.

 


	19. To hell in a handcart - Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vedek Borla gives Kira a lot to think about and Kira and Macet resume their pursuit of Lenaris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all who have commented/reviewed/KUDO'd. I wasn't expecting an audience for this pairing, but it's great to have people reading along. Apologies for the wait, but I've drafted the rest of the story to the end and I can go quicker now.
> 
> All the stuff about Kira and Macet's interest in each other, General Lenaris being a bad guy and the mystery surrounding the Force Field Bubble Device (which I made up), the temples on Cardassia etc is all mine but the political backdrop of the signing, returned Orbs, Odo's return and the Parasite crisis comes from the books. We're getting more AU from the books as we go along.
> 
> There is more Odo/Kira in this story than I anticipated, I apologise if that is not your thing.
> 
> Not beta'd, I read over and over, edit and fiddle, but somethings will slip through.

**To hell in a handcart - Part III**

Kira woke a little disorientated, daylight didn't penetrate into the Theatre and she had no idea what time it was.

The warm weight at her back was explained when she looked over her shoulder and found Macet sleeping there, back in his undershirt and trousers but missing his armour; obviously he'd got cold in the night, despite the heating and their proximity.

She unravelled herself from her blankets and threw on her uniform, wondering if the private bathroom the box was fitted with still had a working head.

It didn't, so she went in search of one, or failing that a quiet spot outside. She'd always been amused by the Starfleet personnel's fastidiousness in the face of biological functions, a life in the resistance hadn't allowed her those sensibilities.

As it was a Ranjen directed her to an area in the back premises, where a rough and ready solution had been set up over an access panel to the sewer, which was thankfully still flowing. Kira didn't like to think what was happening at the other end, with all the treatment plants destroyed.

She felt wide awake, The Ranjen had told her it was very early in the morning, too early for the sun to have risen above the buildings, but not too early for breakfast which was already being prepared from basic replicated ingredients.

When it was ready she collected a bowl of grainy, but tasty porridge and went back to her spot on the edge of the stage. Most of the Cardassians inhabiting the theatre floor were still rolled up in their blankets, though some were stretching and yawning, as if the soft sounds and smells of the Clerics cooking had acted as their alarm call.

Somewhere near the far wall a baby began fussing; looking over that way Kira saw its sleepy eyed mother sit up and place the child to her breast, combing her long black hair with her fingers as her baby fed. Kira felt a pang at the sight; she'd carried a child, but not raised him and wondered if she ever would.

Prylar Borla appeared out of nowhere and sat down next to her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Very well, thank you," said Kira and tackled a heaping spoonful of her porridge, it was filling and hot, but a bit bland and she wanted to get it over with.

"So how long have you and Macet been a couple," asked Borla, licking his spoon.

She froze, her mouth full of porridge that she was suddenly incapable of swallowing. Her first instinct was to deny it, but it wasn't in her nature to be coy. "I'm not sure that you could call us a couple," she said, enunciating carefully around her mouthful, she forced herself to swallow. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm nosy," said Borla, honestly. "Plus I was trying to meditate in the box next to yours last night; you made it hard to concentrate." He grinned at Kira's horrified expression, "Don't worry, it makes a nice change from the cries of the hungry and the sick." He put his bowl down, "I think it's a good thing, a healing thing."

Kira shook her head, her shoulders sagging, "Is it? Do you know who he is?"

"Some relation of Gul Dukat's based on his face, does it matter?"

Kira stared into her porridge, "I don't know, it doesn't matter to me anymore, not now I've got to know him. But it's going to be difficult; it will make things difficult for both of us."

"If you truly want to be together you'll find a way to be together, if you don't you wont. The only way it will harm anyone else is through their own intolerance and that's not really your problem is it?" said Borla, bluntly.

She shook her head, "It is if we have to give up our careers because of it."

He shrugged, "What's a career? I used to be a book keeper, I have an uncanny facility with numbers, but no patience for the sort of person who wants a book keeper who can juggle numbers like a festival performer juggles moba fruit. They weren't nice people. So I found another career. If you want the world to change, you have to lead the way."

Kira shook her head, smiling, "That explains why you're not like any cleric I ever met before."

"Does it? Have you really found all clerics so much alike?" He gave her a quizzical look, "It  _does_  explain why I'm still a Prylar, I'm  _very_  impatient. I'd rather make changes than pray for them." He cocked his head on one side, "Anyway, your relationship would be interesting to me, wouldn't it? Considering what brought me here in the first place."

Kira looked at him, puzzled.

"The statue," said Borla. "The statue of the part Cardassian, part Bajoran man from B'hala."

"Oh," Kira had almost forgotten the statue that Yevir had presented along with the returned Orbs of the Prophets.

"Come with me," said Borla, standing up.

He led her across the stage and indicated that Kira should follow him into a makeshift, tented enclosure that was making do as a shrine. He rolled his eyes when she hesitated on the threshold, "Don't start that again, it's a folding table inside a tent made out of curtains. It's about as holy as my mother's bread oven and far less useful under the circumstances."

On the table sat the statue, depicting a tall, slender man with both Cardassian and Bajoran features. Borla invited her to hold it, "It's just a copy," he said. "But the original was made of Jevonite, 30,000 years ago, long before we'd ever imagined Cardassians were on Bajor, and this man must have been the result."

Kira turned it over in her hands; she hadn't noticed it in Kassidy's house, though she vaguely remembered Kassidy saying that she'd been given it by Prylar Eivos. He'd found it at the archaeological dig at B'hala, the same place as the Ohalu prophecies that had led to her attainder.

Kassidy had given it to Vedek Yevir, starting a whole chain of events that might lead to a fundamental shift in the way that Bajorans related to Cardassians.

"Jevonite isn't found anywhere on Bajor," she said, more to herself than Borla. "Perhaps the Bajorans brought the stone and a Cardassian to Bajor with them on a light ship." She ran a finger over the statue's face, both the brow and nose ridges. "I wonder if they ever went home."

She offered the statue back to Borla, glad to have had a chance to take a closer look and he took it, and placed it carefully back on the altar.

* * *

Macet was eating breakfast when she came out of the shrine, "Ranjen Soriel is organising runners to go to the different sectors," Macet pointed a spoon at an elderly woman who was addressing a group of teenaged Cardassians. She ruffled the hair of the tallest child, who grinned at her and led the others outside. "She says they'll be back by mid afternoon."

Kira could hear the repressed tension in Macet's voice and understood it, she didn't like doing nothing either and her attainted status had made meditating uncomfortable and therefore difficult to do. "Perhaps they can find us a job to occupy us."

Macet looked around at the battered interior of the old theatre, "I should think so."

Borla asked them to help clear out some of the Theatre's many back rooms, directing them to look for anything that was useful, even if it only gave the Cardassians something to burn.

They found some old and already damaged backdrops and broke them up for firewood, using saws and hatchets replicated by the monks. Next they moved into a room full of costumes; most were entirely impractical, but there were some long coats made of faux animal skin that looked like they might be warm and Borla earmarked them for some of the Cardassians living independently on the streets. The rest, spangles and all, were taken to the main theatre, where volunteers started unpicking the seams. If nothing else the showy materials could be shredded into rags and knotted into rugs.

In the last room they entered, behind another pile of mouldering backdrops, they found the machinery that had hauled them up and down. It was an ancient, mechanical device of cogs and gears and winches that fascinated Macet and excited Borla, who though it was just what they needed in one of the cities parks, for hauling water from an ancient well.

By the time Borla and Macet had talked this through it was after lunchtime and the messengers were due back. Kira regretfully tore Macet away from his reverential contemplation of the tool kit that came with the mechanism; repairing things with your hands and simple tools had been a necessity in the resistance, so she lacked the misty eyed nostalgia that some people felt for those things, but she found it oddly charming in Macet.

"I had a work shop when I was a child," he said wistfully, as they ate a bowl of vegetable stew and some hard, chewy bread.

"Really, what did you make in it?"

"Oh, all sorts of things, model ships mostly and I made a machine for peeling the vegetables my mother grew in our garden. She liked growing things but disliked peeling them and used to make my sister and I do it, so I came up with a machine to do it for her. It didn't leave much vegetable, but she'd use it anyway, when we were home." He smiled at Kira, happy in the memory.

"Sounds like you should have been an engineer," said Kira, chasing a lump of nameless vegetable around her bowl with her spoon.

"Hmm," Macet let his spoon fall back into his bowl, "Science is not a popular career for male Cardassians, some use it as a stepping stone to something else, like politics and most military ships engineers are male for some reason." He turned to look at her, "As I told you, I was rather desperate to be "normal" as a young man, so I chose the most common career path."

"Well," said Kira, thoughtfully. "Maybe now would be a good time to change careers?"

He blinked at her, "Become an Engineer? At my age?" he said incredulously.

Kira shrugged, "It was just a thought." She pointed a finger at his half full bowl, "You need to eat that."

He looked down without enthusiasm at his food, "I suppose so."

Kira stood up, "No, I mean you need to eat it quickly," she jerked her head in the direction of the theatre's main entrance. "Some of the messengers are back."

* * *

The first two messengers had returned from the Paldar Sector and the Tarlak Sector, they both reported no sightings of any Bajorans other than the Prylars and Ranjens of the "Temples", but Kira supposed that Lenaris might pass unnoticed if he could find or steal a Monk's robes. She and Macet agreed that if none of the other messengers reported sight of Lenaris they'd head for Paldar anyway and the hospital.

The third messenger arrived alone and reported that she'd been to the city gates where Commander Vaughan had left a small security contingent to wait for Kira and Macet's return. The messenger confirmed that Commander Vaughan had been updated as to their whereabouts and was holding orbit until further notice. In the meantime he was using the Defiant's replicators to produced blankets, pots, pans, simple cooking units and basic foodstuffs for the city.

The messenger from the Munda'ar sector arrived next with some good news; Odo had been in contact with the Temple there and was now searching the city at ground level. He'd left a message there for Kira, saying that he'd move more quickly alone and would check in with the Defiant periodically by transforming back into a bird and flying out of the city, before turning back into his humanoid form, complete with a working comm. badge.

The fourth, fifth and sixth messenger arrived almost simultaneously, but it was the fifth who finally had the news they wanted. A group of old soldiers, who'd survived in a basement bunker under their military retirement home in the Akleen Sector, were still there, living independently without help from the local Temple. Being generally fit and healthy for their age, thanks to the Cardassian veneration for maturity, they had set up a system of patrols and had three times caught sight of a Bajoran in civilian clothes who, when challenged, had fired at them and then run away.

The impression they were left with was that the Bajoran was looking for something and didn't want to get into a prolonged fight.

Prylar Borla re-stocked their field kits with replicated field rations and extra water bottles and sent them on their way with a cheery "Good luck," that left Kira wondering if the odd cleric ever said "Walk with the Prophets"  _and_  whether he believed in the Prophets at all.

Macet set a fast pace and at first Kira concentrated on keeping up; after an hour she called for a five minute halt to catch their breath.

"So," she said, taking a swig of water, "What do you think Lenaris is looking for?"

The tension he was carrying increased, "The Akleen sector housed not only our garrisons and training areas but several munitions storage facilities."

Kira nodded, "Lenaris has to think there's a chance we've disabled his device, so he's probably looking for a backup, what's the most devastating weapon stored there?"

"It depends on his goal," Macet compressed his lips. "There are some bacteriological and viral weapons, but they're specifically designed not to attack Cardassians, so they'd be useless to him. He could use biogenic weapons, designed to kill all life forms indiscriminately. They're one of the reasons I joined the resistance, the Dominion encouraged their use. Utter barbarism," he finished, through his teeth.

Kira shuddered, she'd read some of the reports. "What else?"

"Some chemical weapons, gasses principally, but they haven't been used in centuries and there'd only be samples stored." He raised a brow ridge, "Torpedoes? There was a considerable stockpile still intact even after the Dominion attack, but he'd have nothing to launch them with unless he had a ship. It would be a slow and inefficient way of killing the Cardassian population, the Defiant would find him within seconds of firing the first missile."

"What if he found a way to detonate them all, all at once?"

Macet blinked at her, "At a guess he'd blow a hole the size of Letau in the planets surface, but it wouldn't kill everyone immediately."

"True," Kira screwed the cap back tightly on her water bottle. "So, biogenic weapons then. Where are they stored?"

Macet unhooked the Cardassian version of a tri-corder off his belt and tried to call up a map of the Akleen sector, but the device refused to operate. Swearing softly in Cardassian he found a stick and drew a rough map in the dirt.

"Here, in the northern corner of the Sector are three munitions storage facilities. The surface buildings merely housed military replicators and stockpiles of hand held weapons, rifles and so on. Underneath each one, two hundred meters down, is a storage bunker containing large weapons such as torpedoes and then under  _that_  is a single level, accessible from all three subterranean facilities, which stores all the exotics. If I was Lenaris, I would be looking for a way down."

Kira crouched down next to him, looking at what he had drawn, "Even if he could find the entrance how likely is it that he would be able to get in?"

Macet shook his head, "Assuming he could get under all the rubble? I don't know; the area took hundreds of direct hits. If he can physically access it the security measures might not be functioning. Retina scans and electronic coded devices may all be down."

They both stood up and looked to the East, towards the Akleen sector.

"Let's get moving," said Kira.

* * *

They passed through the Munda'ar sector on their way to Akleen and managed to find the Bajoran temple there, contained in an old grain warehouse. They stopped the night and Kira left a message for Odo and another for relay to Commander Vaughan via the security guards at the city gates, explaining where they were going and what they thought Lenaris was up to. It was the best Kira could do, though it probably meant they'd have to wait for at least a day before Vaughan could be of any real use, assuming they could contact him to tell him what to do.

They left as soon as the glacial temperatures of the night had lifted and reached the southern edge of the Akleen sector by mid morning where they were almost immediately challenged by two, elderly Cardassians in uniform. The old soldiers guided them to their camp and offered them some of their food which Macet accepted for both of them, Kira assumed out of a desire not to offend more than any actual need.

The leader of the band appeared to be a man named Klosk; he was wearing an old and threadbare uniform with the rank insignia of a Garresh on his chest, which Kira vaguely equated with Chief O'Brien's rank of Chief Petty Officer. He produced an antique plan of the sector printed on canvas that had obviously been cut from a frame; markings had been made on the material to update it, showing buildings that had been added after it had been drawn, some thirty years before.

"We can get you to the entrances," he said, once Macet had explained what they wanted to do. "But we've surveyed the whole area, I don't think there is anyway that you, or this Bajoran can get down there, unless you want to do a lot of digging." Krosk imbued the word "Bajoran" with noticeable bile and gave Kira a sidelong, dirty look that amused her and irritated Macet, though he didn't challenge it.

"How long will it take us to get there?" asked Macet.

"Best you let one of us lead you," said Krosk. "We might be slower than you, but we know where we're going. Most of the landmarks you would have known are gone." Krosk looked around at his group, "Saqix and Prethor will take you, they're the fastest." A woman and a man nodded from the other side of the fire sat side by side in almost identical positions, as if they were used to operating as a team and had picked up each others habits and mannerisms.

The pair proved to be quiet, but efficient, leading Kira and Macet across the sector at a brisk trot. On the way they checked up on a couple of smaller groups of military veterans who had their own camps along the route. Kira had to swallow her impatience as the old soldiers at the first camp subjected them to their rambling chat, but at the second they immediately heard news of Lenaris.

The General had been spotted that morning at the location of the most northerly munitions facility, again he had fired at the Cardassian who had seen him, a mother and a child who'd strayed from the neighbouring Coranum Sector in search of food. The woman had stumbled, terrified into the camp and she and her child had been comforted and fed before being taken to the relative safety of their temple.

Re-doubling their pace Saqix and Prethor had Macet and Kira within visual distance of their target inside of an hour.

Saying goodbye to their guides they found themselves a decent vantage point, on top of a stable, two story high pile of rubble and twisted metal that Macet though was once a commissary and settled down to wait.

"Perhaps he'll try one of the other entrances again?" suggested Kira.

"Possibly, but this is the most northern one, I assume he's tried the others and given up. He can't transport inside, the Jevonite would scramble the transporter beam, unless he had an amplifier and we would have seen it."

"Hmm," Kira shifted, trying to find a spot that didn't have something sharp to dig into her belly, thighs or chest and gave up, for once envying Macet his bulky armour. "Even if he'd had an amplifier hidden just inside the city wall, he would have used it by now; he wouldn't still be searching for a physical entrance."

They fell silent, Kira concentrated on quartering the visible area and examining each quarter in detail, getting to know the shapes of the terrain, the collapsed buildings and shattered spires. Occasionally she looked up into the sky and wondered what shape Odo was travelling in now and whether he was on his way to join them.

She noted that Macet seemed to have the knack of staying still, she could see him tensing and releasing different sets of muscles in turn, she assumed to stop himself from stiffening up. She tried it and found that it didn't work for Bajorans, it just gave her cramp.

The sun moved around in the sky and mid afternoon they took it in turns to eat, drink and deal with natural functions.

"We've got about two and a half hours before the temperature seriously starts to drop," said Kira, dropping down next to Macet, "Can you see any cover?"

He shook his head, "No, perhaps we should try and get into the storage facility ourselves and wait for him inside."

Kira considered what he was saying, "If we're going to try it we'd better start now," she said. "We need to leave enough time to make a run for the last camp if we can't get in."

Macet sighed, "All right, come on."

They cautiously made their way down the slope of the collapsed building, checking the map that Saqix and Prethor had left with them, until they found the rough location of the facility's entrance. Kira used her Phaser to vaporise some of the larger pieces of masonry, causing the rest of the pile to shift and slide, making a lot of noise and perhaps explaining why Lenaris had attracted attention. She wondered how much charge he would have left in his weapon after all the shot's he'd fired outside the city.

After an hours work they found the remains of the turbo lift shaft, going down to the second level. There was no sign of the cab; just a very long tunnel going straight down, with a ladder Kira assumed was for maintenance access.

She looked at Macet, who she found was looking at her with a quizzical expression, "Two hundred meters did you say?"

He nodded, his lips twitching, "A little light exercise to aid digestion."

"Ha!" Kira gestured to the hole, "I've climbed a lot further, after you."

Not wishing to step on his fingers she made sure he was at least ten rungs down before she began her descent, but actually he proved to be faster than her and stopped twice to let her catch up with him.

About twenty meters down, just as the light from above was dwindling, Kira found a maintenance locker containing several torches with built in power packs. She passed one down to Macet and tucked another into her belt before continuing their descent into the dark.

She reached the bottom with no more than a niggling ache in her calf muscles and switching on her torch, looked around.

They were standing on top of a partially crumpled Turbolift cab, suggesting it had fallen part of the way when the power cut out. Using the torches they found the access hatch and Macet managed to open it with a couple of stiff tugs. They dropped inside to find the doors fortuitously stuck open.

The cab opened onto a wide corridor, broken at intervals by double width doors, equipped with retina scanners and key pads. There was no light, except for their torches; the security panels were dark, confirming that there was no power available at all.

As they walked along they discovered that the eighth door on the right was stuck a few inches open. Kira stopped and directed her torch beam through the doors, but the darkness swallowed the light without revealing anything and she had to step away to free herself from a yawning sense of vertigo. She swung her torch back and forth along the corridor, not really understanding at first what she was looking for, then it came to her that she'd expected to see dead Cardassians, instead she found herself fighting the feeling that they were just out of sight, dodging her torch beam and had to stop and take a few deep breaths.

"There would have been a relatively small number of personnel at this level," whispered Macet, seeming to read her mind. "The torpedoes stored here would require a detonator and three codes to arm them, plus some kind of firing mechanism. With the security at the surface and the scanners and keypads at the doors, they were considered to be quite secure."

Kira didn't comment, but she still wondered what happened to the "relatively small number of personnel".

They finally found them at the base of the turbo shaft leading down to the second level. This shaft had been cut diagonally into the rock and it was much longer than the first, thankfully there were steps cut into the slope and it was an easy walk, as long as they watched their footing.

It was steep enough however, that a turbolift in free fall had still made a mess. The air was very cool and dry and the scattered remains were mostly shrunken and desiccated. Kira stepped over and around as much as she could and tried to think of other things when her boot slid in something unidentifiable.

Finally, they were presented with a closed door and another retina scan and key pad. Kira asked Macet to shine his torch on the mechanism and prised off the side panel. "How much power do you have left in your weapon?" she asked. She saw the gleam of the indicator bar as he checked and saw that it was low down and a sullen, faded orange.

"Fourteen percent," he said, confirming what she'd guessed.

"Mine's at about fifty four; I think I can rig a power transfer from your weapon to the security locks and by pass them, but it's probably going to drain it dry."

He didn't argue, but handed it over, "Do it, I can't imagine Lenaris is any better off."

"Unless he found some on the way down," said Kira grimly.

She could almost  _hear_  Macet thinking, "Wait there, I'll be right back." He disappeared into the gloom, returning a few minutes later by which time Kira was too busy to pay him any attention.

Holding the torch in her teeth she'd managed to make a connection and was monitoring the power flow, gently easing the trickle up and down to avoid it either going to low and collapsing the connection or too high and burning it out. Finally the retinal scan and keypad lit up inside and out and she sighed in satisfaction. "There, I don't suppose you have access to this area?"

"No," Macet shook his head, "I've only been inside under escort."

"Never mind," Kira carefully began moving components and cables from one place to another, trying to remember everything she knew about Cardassian security systems as she did it. Her first three attempts resulted in nerve wracking power fluctuations, but nothing else. The fourth created an energy arc between a chip and a connector that singed her fingers, but finally the fifth rewarded her with a series of clicks as the locks disengaged. She stood back; feeling pleased and noticed that Macet was holding something out to her.

It was a Cardassian hand held weapon, "Where did you find that?"

Macet nodded behind him, towards the Turbolift shaft, "I found myself one as well, they're both fully charged, I thought we should have a back up."

"Are you sure they aren't damaged?" asked Kira doubtfully.

"I test fired them both," he replied.

Kira shrugged and took the weapon from his hand and tucked it into her belt; he was right, a back up was a good idea and she was too old and had seen too much to start being squeamish.

Switching off their torches, they used a fallen roofing strut to prise the doors open and discovered that, as with the rest of the facility, everything was in darkness. A gust of stale air puffed into their faces, but otherwise their entry into the lowest level of the facility was unheralded.

They passed through an anti chamber and found another pair of doors stuck open. Macet was about to stride through into the blackness, but Kira held him back, "Listen," she breathed.

Somewhere in the distance was a faint thud, a rattle and a tink, tink, tink noise, as if someone had knocked something over and it had rocked to its rest. Kira stood as still as she could, straining her eyes pointlessly into the darkness.

Light danced briefly in the distance, like someone struggling with their grip on a torch.

She felt Macet's breath on her ear, "Separate Laboratories and storage facilities. Trap him. Lead you to the wall."

It wasn't an elegant plan, but it was simple. She felt Macet take her hand and carefully followed his lead, forcing herself not to crush his fingers for fear of losing him. Finally he stopped, so she reached out gingerly with her other hand and was delighted when her fingers brushed against the wall. She tapped him gently on the shoulder, communicating that she was ready and still holding hands, they began to walk carefully and quietly.

She remained intensely conscious of the sheer size of the space around her, it was hard to keep her breathing steady and she realised that she'd lost whatever ease she'd had in the dark. She'd never questioned her habit of leaving a low light on in her quarters at night; she'd just told herself it was a pleasurable luxury to roll out of bed without tripping over recumbent compatriots she couldn't see, or rather more likely aboard Deep Space Nine, discarded clothing.

She certainly didn't remember being afraid of the dark before.

As they moved her ears strained for further sounds; twice both she and Macet froze as they heard footsteps, closer each time and on the last occasion a torch beam sliced through the dark, barely missing them.

For a while Kira wasn't certain she was breathing at all.

Finally Macet tugged her hand and they started moving again.

There was no noise for some time and Kira had to stop herself from gasping when Lenaris was just suddenly  _there_. Later she realised that they'd stepped past the open door of the laboratory he was standing in, but at the time it just made her jump, as much as if he'd appeared in a puff of smoke and flames.

He was holding a torch in his teeth, just as Kira had earlier, and was fiddling with some circuitry he'd exposed by opening a panel in the wall.

Before they could make a move, Lenaris made a satisfied noise and the lights came on.


	20. Calling time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to confront Lenaris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See previous chapters.
> 
> This is the last chapter of the main story. But there is a substantial epilogue to come.
> 
> This is the grimmest chapter by far; there is reference to atrocities and a higher level of violence. Also there is a non explicit reference to the possible sexual abuse of a minor.

**Calling time**

It was a dull, amber light, no doubt from emergency power, but it was more than enough to reveal Macet and Kira standing in the doorway.

They all froze, holding their breath, but it was Macet that moved first, smoothly raising his weapon to fire.

Lenaris spun away and fired back, Macet flung himself flat against the wall and Kira crouched and fired, missing Lenaris by a fraction and rupturing a cryogenic chamber.

Icy gasses mushroomed and Lenaris came out swinging, his right fist connecting solidly with Kira's jaw. She stepped back, trying to keep her balance and raise her guard, but the gas had settled and the floor was frosted like a window pane on a winter's morning.

As she went over backwards she saw Macet charge Lenaris. She tried to twist, to put out a hand out to save herself, but her head connected solidly with the edge of something hard and she went out like a light.

* * *

The world came back to Kira in shades of red and orange that flowed into her eyes from the back of her head and the left side of her jaw. She blinked hard and realised she was lying on her back, looking up at a rectangular, illuminated panel that shed a dull orange light.

What she'd interpreted in her scrambled state as colour, was actually pain.

It occurred to her that there were no rectangular, orange lights in her quarters on Deep Space Nine. She'd obviously gone to sleep somewhere else, but where?

Her shattered memory suddenly re-assembled itself and she carefully looked around, as best she could, without moving her head.

"Welcome back Nerys," said Lenaris, making her jump. He was standing in the corner of the room, dressed in a mish-mash of Bajoran militia uniform, Cardassian boots and body armour and with a Bajoran Clerics cloak thrown over the top.

He was standing over one of four cryogenic units that sat along the far wall. As Kira watched he pulled out a tube, examined it against something on a Padd and tossed it aside to join eight or nine others that were scattered across the floor in pools of melting chemical ice.

She sat up, slowly. "What are you doing?" she asked, enunciating carefully around her swollen jaw.

He spared her a glance, "You know what I'm doing, otherwise you wouldn't be here." He tossed another tube aside.

She swallowed and ran her tongue over her dry lips, "If you carry on like that you'll kill us before you find what you're looking for."

He looked down at the pile of tubes, "Are you worried that one of these will rupture?" He stamped on one, hard and it skittered away across the floor undamaged. "It won't, and anyway, that one will only kill you if you have some Breen in your ancestry." He examined another tube, "This one chemically alters the brain chemistry of Betazoids, making them lose their telepathic abilities. It causes violent psychosis in seventy two percent of subjects tested." He tossed it, "Very handy if you have a limited supply of troops, get the population to kill each other."

Kira looked from one tube to another, to another, her mind refusing to accept what Lenaris was saying. "The Cardassians don't have that level of technology."

"No," said Lenaris, "they didn't. Not until the Dominion came. These are the last weapons in the Dominion's arsenal. They prefer to conquer inhabited worlds, people can be useful, but if all else fails..." He held up another tube, "This one strips away a Vulcan's mental control, same result as the Betazoids." The tube joined the others on the floor.

She watched him for a few moments, trying to decide what to do. He was,  _different_. She'd found his behaviour, his plots, strange and almost ridiculous before, but he'd seemed quite sane. Now there was something a little childish about him, as if he was letting some hidden part of himself out. "What are you looking for?" she asked, playing for time.

"Somewhere in here is a lovely little compound that selectively kills pre-pubescent Cardassians and those of middle age and over, it's triggered by hormone levels. It leaves the rest of the population sterile." He turned and smiled at Kira, "You have to respect the Dominion, they knew how to fit the solution to the species. What could be worse for a Cardassian, with their focus on family, to see their beloved children and their revered elders slain and then to know that there will be no more to replace them." He shook his head at her, "You should have let my virus do its job, it would have been kinder in the long run."

Another tube clattered to the floor.

Kira tried to move, to get her legs under her, but every movement made her head whirl and her stomach heave, plus her legs felt like they were stuffed with Borla's porridge. Where's Macet?" she asked, pressing her fingers to her eyes and praying for the spinning to stop.

"Dead," said Lenaris, matter of factly.

It felt like something inside her shattered, but she couldn't, wouldn't react. If Lenaris was telling the truth, she would deal with it later, "So, why am I still alive?"

He shrugged, "You might be useful."

She shook her head, gaping at his audacity, then wished she hadn't. "Useful? In what way?"

"Well," he stood up straight and scratched his head; "Now you come to mention it..." he grinned."Don't look so alarmed, a hostage is always useful and the Ohalavaru still need a leader; perhaps you should give it some proper thought this time," he laughed softly.

She stared at him, finding him unbelievable. "I don't understand," she said, bitterly. "You're not really a believer, or you wouldn't be doing this. Why do you care about the Ohalavaru,  _or_  who leads them?"

He shrugged again, "I don't, but if I'd convinced you to take the lead of the Ohalavaru, that would have ended your Militia career and your political influence. Shakaar listened to you, or at least he did before that worm got in his head, and Asareem was showing signs of doing the same. I wanted you out of the way and you've always gravitated towards powerful people. I thought you'd jump at the chance to be a leader for a change."

She shook her head, relieved that this time it didn't send the room spinning, "Then you didn't,  _don't_  know me at all."

"No," he rolled his eyes, " _I_  realised that quite quickly. But at least the Ohalavaru business kept you distracted, so it wasn't all wasted and I enjoyed interfering in your repulsive little dalliance with the Cardassian." Two more tubes hit the floor, "Well, that's that unit emptied." He moved over to the next one.

Because of the way the next cryogenic unit was positioned he had to turn away, presenting her with his back. She tired again to get her legs under her and found that though her strength was returning, she wasn't quite ready to tackle him. Lenaris might be fifty years old, but he was strong and fit and she didn't just intend to stop him. At that moment she intended to pass him to Starfleet a bloody cripple beyond the aid of modern medicine, and square it with the Prophets later. In the mean time, she would keep him talking and slow his search.

"What are you  _actually_  trying to achieve, beyond a lot of dead Cardassians?" she asked, trying to keep her tone cordial.

He looked over his shoulder, incredulous, "A free and independent Bajor. No Cardassian's, no Federation, I thought it was obvious."

"But, the Federation won't stop Bajor from joining over the actions of one man," she said, reasonably.

He laughed, "Oh, I've left enough evidence to smirch the good name of half the ruling council; I've even managed to implicate Asareem."

"Really," Kira pretended to be impressed, "That was clever. I never really liked the idea of joining the Federation." It wasn't quite a lie; she just had to dredge up her feelings from the first days after the end of the occupation.

Lenaris smiled broadly, as if she'd done something clever and deserved a pat on the head, "I know, I read some of your memos from your first days aboard the station." He shook his head, his expression changing to one of disappointment, "You seemed to like them perfectly well in the end though. Quite the Emissary's pet."

She swallowed her temper; Lenaris was obviously playing with her and wasn't even trying to disguise it. Perhaps she could make him believe that she was stupid enough to actually deserve his patronage. She put on a petulant expression, "No one would listen to me, they threatened to send me back to Bajor and I would have been just another Major, swallowed up in the ranks."

He nodded, an arrested look on his face, as if she'd surprised him, "It's like I said, you like to be close to power. I understand that, you just need to choose better."

He was looking at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes and she was sure he was testing her in some way. Behind the petulant mask she'd assumed her mind raced, trying to figure out which way to go. It was almost as if he was making an overture to her, but what kind? Did he want to join his movement? Was he courting her in some perverse way?"

Breathing slowly she adjusted the way she was sitting a tiny bit, subtly arching her spine and emphasising the curve of her hip. She smiled deprecatingly and put the look in her eye that she'd learned to fake when she was barely out of her teens, hoping it wasn't spoiled by her swollen jaw. It was a challenging look, that asked a man to prove that he was worthy of her. It had rarely failed to work on Cardassians. "What if I picked you?"

Lenaris' eyes twinkled appreciatively and she made the mistake of relaxing, ever so slightly. He moved so fast she barely saw him coming and she was in no state to fight him off. He hauled her up by her neck, as if she weighed nothing and slammed her back against the wall, forcing her up on her toes as she scrabbled and scratched at his hands.

"Liar," he spat in her face, still smiling. "You're a whore just like your mother, going willingly into a Cardassian's bed; you knew what you were doing. You should have just spat on the graves of every Bajoran who died in the occupation and had done with it."

"Is that it?" she managed to gasp.

"Is that what?" he asked, jerking his head back and looking puzzled.

His change of stance released some of the pressure on her throat and she managed to swallow, "Is that why you want them all dead, because you didn't know what you were doing, because you were too young?"

He pushed her back against the wall, but more weakly this time, "What are you  _talking_  about?"

"You were only eleven when you went to the Batal Labour camp," Kira dragged in a breath, now he had her pinned with his forearm across her upper chest, rather than her neck and she could breathe more easily. "You worked for Doctor Eklet, as an orderly to start off with, bringing the children's meals, emptying the bedpans. But you got bigger and you thought Doctor Eklet was trying to save them; she must have seemed like a hero. How old were you when she first seduced you?"

"Who told you this?" he hissed, pressing her back into the wall.

She didn't answer his question, just kept on talking. She thought that Ezri would tell her to look at him, to try and build empathy, but she couldn't do it. So she kept her eyes focused on the far wall and spoke in a flat, emotionless tone. "However old you were when it started I know you were twenty four when you left Batal to join the resistance. Where you still her lover then? How long did you know that she was experimenting on the children, not curing them?"

He let her go. Stepping back and shaking his head.

"Why did you wait until you were twenty four to try and kill her?"

"What does it matter?" he said, coldly. "I thought that she never did anything bad to me, because she cared. I found out I was wrong," he shrugged. "I really thought I'd killed her. She wasn't breathing when I left."

"I've seen the reports, you came close, but she was revived in time. She was reprimanded for lax security protocols, but continued to practice medicine until the end of the Occupation, when she retired to a small town outside of Culat." Kira finally raised her eyes to his, wanting to see how he would react, "She was one of those confirmed dead after the Dominion attack."

"She won't have suffered enough," he said, unemotionally.

" _No_ ," Kira agreed, forcefully, "she  _wouldn't_  have. Those children died in agony."

He stepped back again, "Yes. I knew some of them, the ones that came from Jabelon." His eyes slid away, "At least it wasn't me."

Kira struggled to find something to say, she knew she should keep him talking, but she also knew she wouldn't be able to keep the disgust out of her voice.

She thought Lenaris might be beyond caring anyway, his face was almost slack, as if he was completely lost in thoughts and memories.

She started to slide down the wall again and shifted her foot to try and stay upright, it caught a stray tube that rolled away and bumped another, making a tinkling noise. It brought Lenaris back to the present and he gently pushed on her shoulder until she was sat back on the floor. "Stay where you are. I must keep looking." He turned back to the newly opened Cryogenic Chamber and started pulling out tubes again.

"Did you vandalise Ziyal's art?" she asked, hoping to distract him.

"What, oh, that. Not personally. Roscha used that as a test run for the Force Field device. He told me he found it very satisfying, but it was a disaster in the end. One of the induction coils burnt out and he had to call the Romulan in to get it fixed." He snorted, "You'd think an ex-member of the Tal'Shiar would have more sense than to resort to blackmail. Roscha said his face was a picture when he realised exactly how he was going to die."

"Why didn't Rosha completely destroy the body?"

"He knew that Lieutenant Ro was scanning for Baryon radiation. He thought he'd better be somewhere else and quickly." He paused with a tube in his hand, "Sadly he isn't very bright, doesn't look ahead. Of course I suppose that Romulan's corpse made the connection between me and device," he glanced at Kira for confirmation.

"It did," Kira nodded, "What about Gila Ovan? Where did she come in?"

"Are you interrogating me?" Lenaris turned to her laughing.

Kira shrugged, gritting her teeth when the movement set of a chorus of pain, "What else is there to do?"

He pulled a "why not" face and turned back to the tubes. "She was much more intelligent. We wanted a Cardassian for a test subject and a source of DNA. She was quite ready to believe that we could work together to the same ends. She'd left the "True Way" because she couldn't stomach the violence involved. Quite idealistic, she believed me when I told her we would just create unrest."

"What happened to her?"

"She realised that we were lying and confronted me at Phaser point. Fortunately Roscha was able to sneak up and anesthetise her. The last version of the virus we infected her with replicated enough for us to understand where we were going wrong, but we kept her in stasis just in case. When Admiral Akaar started talking about moving the signing ceremony, there she was, ready to be used."

He laughed, "She came aboard the Station in a Ferengi Cargo vessel listed as "Glass wear, miscellaneous". I believe that Quark  _actually_  filled a report with security when he couldn't find the "extra" crate listed on his manifest." He squinted at another tube, "The label's faded on this one, I think that's an 8, not a 6," he tossed it. "I must compliment your medical staff, our team honestly thought the cell ruptures in Ovan's skin would be taken for a mild case of radiation poisoning, which, when you consider where she was found, would have been quite likely."

Kira took a few, slow breaths, forcing down nausea, "So, were you actually planning to assassinate Shakaar?"

Lenaris nodded, absently, "Yes, but thanks to all the extra security measures we had to abandon our original plan, the device is all very well when no one knew it was there, but you'd have scanned every inch of everywhere Shakaar went for anomalous energy readings. The device was useless then." He turned to look at her, "How did you know that we had it?"

"Gul Macet, the Cardassians were given two by the Dominion."

"And I stopped Roscha from killing him  _weeks_  ago." Lenaris shook his head, "Because I thought it would draw too much attention. Oh well, by the time Shaakar came aboard Deep Space Nine I decided not to kill him anyway, he, or rather as it turns out, the parasite seemed to be playing into our hands."

"Who  _is_  Roscha?" asked Kira, genuinely interested. "I know his history is faked."

"He arrived from Jabelon, the day before I escaped. They hadn't even processed his paperwork and he could run, so I took him with me. But you're right, his name wasn't Roscha then and -"

There was a clang, from somewhere outside and they both froze. Someone was moving around, but the noise was muffled and she couldn't make where it was coming from, or how far away it was.

"In here!" she screamed.

Lenaris took two rapid steps and backhanded her, slamming her back against the wall, knocking the breath out of her already fragile lungs and the stuffing back out of her legs. He span back to the Cryogenic Units, muttering under his breath.

Something banged outside again. She tried to call out, but could only make a weak, croaking sound.

Lenaris spared her a glance, "They can't get in here and by the time I've released it, it won't matter," he continued to mutter under his breath. "When they open the door they'll release it. Were is it?" He pulled tube after tube out of the cryogenic unit and tossed them away, finally emptying it and turning to the next one.

She tried to wipe away the blood from her face, her left eye was puffing up to match her jaw and she didn't dare take a deep breath because the dull ache in her ribs was now stabbing and sharp. "Here!" she called out weakly.

Lenaris threw a tube at her, just missing her head, "There's nothing but Cardassians out there and soon they'll be dead Cardassians, save your breath. The species will soon be extinct."

She glared at him, blinking back tears, "They wont, at least three of your lightships were destroyed before they could release the pods, even if you kill every Cardassian on Prime, you'll still fail."

He froze, "Was that your doing?" he span around, swooping down on her and dragging her up again. "Was that your doing?" he screamed in her face.

She looked him straight in the eye, knowing that she had finally got to him, that this might be better than any physical pain she could put him through. "Yes," she said with satisfaction, knowing that he would loose control and she would probably die. "I stopped them."

His first punch landed in her stomach, his second on her ribs and she heard them crack again. Her eyes rolled up to the ceiling; if she couldn't stop feeling then at least she wouldn't see the contorted face of the man who was killing her.

There was a hole in the ceiling, where a plate had been removed. The hole was something new.

Macet dropped through the gap and straight onto Lenaris' back, roaring as he came.

Lenaris released her, but there was nothing she could do except slide drunkenly down the wall and try and stay conscious as Macet tore into him, beyond control or reason.

He used his fingers like claws and his boots like hammers.

Kira heard bones cracking and Lenaris' bloody pleas for mercy and closed her eyes. This was what she had wanted, the only difference was that it wasn't her meeting out revenge and what did that matter anyway?

"Kira."

Her eyes fluttered opened, Lenaris' was on his belly and Macet had him by the hair, pulling his head back. Lenaris' eyes were bulging and his hands scrabbled weakly on the floor plates, as if was trying to crawl. "Kira," he gasped again and a bloody bubble popped at the corner of his mouth.

"Stop," she said.

Macet didn't hear her, he continued to pull Lenaris' head back, no doubt relying on the pressure it would cause on a Bajoran's carotid artery. He was certainly trying to make Lenaris unconscious, she was reasonably certain that he was trying to kill him.

"Stop," she said more strongly, and kicked out with one leg, managing to nudge Macet's knee with her boot.

His head jerked up and she barely recognised him, smears of blood decorated his face and body, his teeth were bared and his eyes were empty.

"Stop," she said again, desperately this time.

His eyes changed first, he blinked and looked down at the man beneath him, dropping him like he was something foul.

Lenaris dropped heavily to the floor and lay there wheezing and gasping; Macet stepped over him without a backwards glance and squatted down next to Kira, his bloody fingers gently touching her face where Lenaris' fists had landed. "Don't move, I got a message to the surface, help is coming."

"I think I've got some broken ribs," she wheezed.

He swallowed, "I wouldn't be surprised. I'm sorry I took so long to reach you."

"Lenaris told me you were dead," she managed to raise her hand to touch his face and the ridge behind his ear.

"He blew out a large section of roof which landed on me, so he can be excused for that. A beam protected me from the worst of it."

There was silence for a while, Macet kept gently touching her face and her hands, looking into her eyes and making sure she stayed awake. Finally they heard noises coming from outside, booted feet in a sloppy quick march. Kira heard shouts and thought she recognised Commander Vaughan's voice.

Macet reached over her shoulder and started slamming his fist against the wall, "Over here, we're in here!"

There were more shouts and noises, then softer sounds from above, inside the roof space.

A finger of golden liquid came through the open hole in the roof, paused as if it was looking at them and then continued to the floor, rising up to become Odo. "They're breaking through the lock, it won't take long," he bent down beside them, his eyes on Kira, "How badly is she hurt?"

"I'm not certain, she thinks she has broken ribs, he was using her as a punching bag," replied Macet, jerking his head in Lenaris' direction.

"I fell backwards," Kira whispered, not intending to contradict him, but to make sure they knew it all, "hit my head again."

"Yes, you must stop doing that," said Odo, with calm affection, though Kira could tell he was hiding his concern.

There was a bang, followed by some clicks and whirs from the other side of the door, but it stayed stubbornly shut.

Odo went over to check on Lenaris. "He seems to be breathing," he said doubtfully. "Is this your handy work or the Colonel's?"

"Mine," said Macet baldly, "He can wait. Can you take her out of here?" he asked.

"If necessary," Odo replied, he cocked his head on one side, "Do  _you_  think it's necessary?"

"I do," Macet nodded firmly.

Kira looked from one to another, "What are you doing?" She coughed and felt her broken ribs jabbing at something internal.

"We're going to get you out of here," Macet nodded at Odo, and supporting her chin with one hand he gently slid the other between her back and the wall, lifting her away a little.

She cried out, she couldn't help it, but before she could say anything Odo's lower half flowed around her like a body cast and his arms stretched up into the ceiling, wrapping themselves around the beams before hauling her gently upwards.

She looked back just as she passed into the roof space and saw Macet standing over Lenaris, looking down at him.

It was the strangest and most comfortable journey Kira had ever undertaken when injured, they passed between the false ceiling and the roof of the huge cavern the facility had been built into, Odo, his face still the face she knew and loved, swinging through the rafters like a primate. His lower half kept her absolutely level and stable until he came to a point where a great stretch of the roof had collapsed.

He lowered her gently through the hole and swung her over the fallen beams and plates until he could lay her flat on the ground. Then he flowed away, becoming a pillar of shimmering light before assuming his usual shape. "Doctor, over here!" he shouted.

There was the sound of pounding feet and Dr. Bashir's face appeared, hanging over hers, his tri-corder at work. Obviously the Jevonite in the buildings had no effect at this depth, or maybe the back up power that Lenaris had managed to turn on had activated some signal relays, either way, Dr. Bashir did not seem to have any trouble with his equipment.

"Four broken ribs on the right, three cracked on the left, a fractured collar bone, cracked cheek bone and jaw, a ruptured spleen, multiple sprains and contusions and you've managed to concuss yourself again. Perhaps I should keep you in the infirmary permanently, it would be safer."

Kira opened her mouth to say something sarcastic but the Doctor forestalled her, insisting that she remained silent. He placed a device on her forehead that almost immediately soothed the pain in her head and made her feel drowsy. The last thing she remembered was Odo, bending down to squeeze her hand, before disappearing from view.

* * *

Kira woke up and this time recognised her surroundings immediately, she was in the Defiant's infirmary.

Carefully she wiggled her toes and her fingers, when they responded sluggishly and nothing hurt in any serious way, she tried sitting up.

It was uncomfortable; she had a stretched feeling across the ribs that made breathing feel strange, but not painful. Generally she just felt weak and tired.

Carefully she looked around, finding that her head was more than usually heavy on her neck.

There were two bio beds in the Infirmary, the other was also occupied by a body that was completely still and swathed in a sheet, except for one, booted foot. She stared at it for a moment, trying to fathom why the boot she could see was important, then it came to her, it was a Cardassian, uniform boot.

"Macet!" Panic sent her staggering from her bed, her knees buckling, but she lurched forward and managed to catch hold of the other bio bed and leaning heavily on it, yanked the sheet aside.

It was Lenaris, pale and waxy in death, his face a mess, still wearing his jumble of clothes, including Cardassian boots.

Kira considered trying to make it back to her bio bed, but it was easier just to slide to the floor and sprawl there, half sitting and half lying. She'd only been there for a few seconds when Julian appeared and helped her up and back to bed. "Next time I sedate you I'll increase the dose," he scolded, "you're becoming immune."

"Lenaris," Kira pointed weakly at the corpse.

Julian tutted and re-covered the body. "I thought I'd have the preliminary autopsy done and him out of the way before you woke up."

"How did he die?" she asked, her eyes on the swathed form.

"Based on my initial readings, acute flexion of the neck compressing the Major Carotid artery," Julian said, tapping commands into the bio-bed. "I'm afraid it's a bit of a design flaw in Bajorans, having only one passing behind the sternohyoid muscle and in front of the omohyoid muscle. Macet told me that he pulled Lenaris' head back during the fight, unfortunately, even after he let him go, the muscles continued to swell and cut off the blood supply to the General's brain," Julian shook his head regretfully. "Even if we'd got him out of the room earlier, we'd probably be looking at severe and irreparable brain damage." He looked down at his dead patient, "Of course he would have spent a life time in rehabilitation anyway."

"It's probably better this way," said Kira, blinking back tears.

"I'm sorry," said Bashir, "I forgot you knew him."

Kira wiped her eyes, "I thought I did, once."

* * *

The Defiant reached Deep Space Nine a few hours later, by which time Kira could walk and was allowed to do so as long as she walked straight to the Infirmary escorted by Doctor Bashir. She was de-briefed there by Admiral Akaar and had the pleasure of a visit from a strained First Minister Asareem the next morning, during which she revealed that the Vedek Assembly had met and Kira's attainted status had been lifted. Kira could enter the temples, pray and become part of Bajor's religious life again.

She found that there was a great deal to pray for.

Reports suggested that thirteen light ships had been deployed; of those, only three had successfully released the virus: on the planet Orias, a starbase in the Algira sector and the planet Omekla.

Between them those three locations represented a total population of displaced, refugee Cardassians of 94,000 and reports of the first deaths were already coming in as Kira left the infirmary on the third day.

The virus was killing the elderly and the young first and Kira remembered what Lenaris had said about the Dominion substance he had been looking for and wondered whether it was intentional.

Gul Macet had stayed on Cardassia and was now back aboard the Trager, ferrying medical supplies from the uninfected planets to the infected and the medical teams rushed in from Bajor and the Federation. During the whole period the virus was active he and his crew never left their ship, or allowed anyone else to do so, transporting the medical supplies on and off the Trager through medical force fields to avoid either bringing the virus aboard or passing it on should they become infected.

Almost every other Cardassian ship capable of space flight, from Galor Class Warships right down to personal shuttles joined him.

It took Dr. Bashir, with the full might of Starfleet medical at his back, eight days to find a way to boost the Cardassian's immune system in such a way that the virus could be survived in nine cases out of ten.

By then 31,000 Cardassians had died and 46,000 Cardassians were sick.

Three days later Dr. Bashir developed a vaccine which was replicated at speed and distributed to the remaining 4,239 Cardassians from the infected locations that hadn't developed symptoms. From there almost every Cardassian was vaccinated over the following six weeks.

It was an astonishing achievement.

Two weeks after Lenaris' death the wreckage of a Bajoran cruiser was found in the Hugora Nebula. Analysis revealed that the warp core had overloaded and it was concluded that the remaining crew must have engaged the self destruct mechanism.

Two escape pods were found to be missing, but were never discovered and no one ever found out exactly how many people Lenaris had working with him, or who they were, except for Roscha Unos.

Roscha Unos was eventually delivered to the Cardassian people for trial. He was escorted straight off his transport ship and into the courtroom, and publicly executed thirteen hours later. Kira never found out his real name, or what his true story was, but when she received confirmation that he was dead, she prayed for him.

Signing his extradition papers represented Asareem Wadeen's last act as First Minister of an Independent Bajor. The following day she signed her planet into the Federation, in front of representatives from all over the Quadrant including, ironically, Hiziki Gard her predecessor's assassin.

Macet was there, accompanying Ambassador Natima Lang, but Kira didn't get a chance to talk to him and wasn't sure she wanted to. The Cardassian contingent arrived immediately before the signing and left straight afterwards, with apologies and references to the work left to do at home.

Kira forced herself to pay attention during the signing ceremony, Odo at her side. Afterwards she looked around for Macet and their eyes met across the room.

He stared at her for a long moment, and then his eyes looked over her shoulder, to where she knew Odo was standing. His eyes met hers again, briefly and then he turned and left in the Ambassadors wake.

She went to bed that night, as she had many nights before, wondering if Lenaris' fatal injuries had been sustained before Odo took her out of the cryogenic storage room, or after.

She wondered if she could honestly blame Macet if it was the latter.

She wondered if she ever saw him again, whether he'd be changed.

* * *

Odo left five days later, their goodbye was loving, but Kira knew that this time, it was truly goodbye.

* * *

Four weeks later.

Captain Kira Nerys of Starfleet was wading through a stack of reports, trying to ignore her growling stomach and the chronometer in the corner of her screen that told her she should have given up, had some dinner and gone to bed an hour ago. She promised herself that she would do just that once she'd finished the report she was on.

It was a transcript of the last meeting of the Vedek assembly; it confirmed that a combined working party of Clerics and members of the Ohalavaru would be setting up a study centre at the archaeological digs at B'hala, to study and examine the Ohalu prophecies and their setting. The party was to be led by Vedek Solis and represented a huge step forward in accepting alternative views of the Prophets.

As she read Kira couldn't help but touch her Bajoran earring, returned to its rightful place.

The report also commended the work of the "Temples" on Cardassia and announced that these missionaries would be rewarded by the formation of a new order called the Jevonites, led by the newly promoted Vedek Borla. Their name and the symbol of their order would come from the 30,000 year old Jevonite statue of the part Bajoran, part Cardassian man, found at B'hala.

Kira wondered what would come of it all; would Bajorans ever truly understand the Prophets? She stood up and took down one of her copies of the many books of prophecy that were part of the Bajoran faith and began to read, but soon found that she wasn't really concentrating on the words. She'd always thought of Vedeks and Prylars and Ranjens as being very much alike, somehow ignoring the differing personalities of the clerics she knew, the profound understanding of Opaka, the power hungry foolishness of Winn, the peaceful balance of Bareil, the passion and single mindedness of Yevir, Solis' openness and willingness to embrace change and Borla's practical wisdom.

She wondered what the last two would achieve and looked around at her desk and all the clutter that came with her role. Was this really what she wanted to do with her life? Bajor was a member of the Federation now; they had huge resources at their command and huge numbers of competent officers even after the depletions of the Dominion War; before she could argue to herself that she was needed, that no other Bajoran Officer had the understanding of the delicate balance between the Federation and Bajor. But now...

Her reflective mood was interrupted when her comm. unit made a noise, indicating that she had a message flagged high priority. Rubbing her eyes and cursing softly under her breath she opened it, only to be confronted by a recorded image of Gul Macet.

"Hello, Nerys." his voice made her insides flutter with something between hope and panic. "You'll be pleased to hear that the vaccination programme is complete. I'm planning to take a few days leave and was wondering if my quarters on Deep Space Nine are still available. I'm arriving the day after tomorrow," he paused, as if he wasn't quite sure what to say next. "Perhaps," he continued, hesitantly, "we could have dinner? Anyway, I'm sure I'll see you at some point." He paused again and then pressed his hand to the screen, the way he had when they'd talked in Ro's office all those weeks before, and the recording ended.

She sat there for a while, trying to decide how she felt about him coming back to the Station. She had finally forced herself to stop thinking about the circumstances of Lenaris' death, not really understanding why it was upsetting her in the first place. It always seemed easier to deal with her own sins, then those of the people she cared about.

Was she going to ask Macet for the truth?

Did they have a future?

She didn't know, but she reversed the message and paused it at the point where his hand was pressed against the screen, and covered it with her own, not caring that it was a pointless thing to do.


	21. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eight years later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See previous chapters.
> 
> This epilogue is my AU version of an event that takes place during the timeline of the Typhon Pact relaunch novels and therefore contains spoilers, however, I haven't read the books, just the summaries.
> 
> This was going to be much longer, but I've decided that the bulk of what I've written belongs in a one-shot follow up.

Eight years later...

Clearing the station Vedek Kira Nerys laid in her course and engaged, heading for the wormhole. She was just preparing to raise the shields when the noise of a transporter beam caused her to spin around in her chair.

"What are you up to Nerys?" asked Akellan Macet, from the transporter pad.

"Nothing that need concern you." She turned back to the con. and adjusted the shield harmonics for a trip through the wormhole, keeping her eyes on her busy hands. "You're still within transporter distance of the station, so I suggest you leave now," she said, over her shoulder.

"I don't think so," he came and sat in the second seat and checked her heading. "You've stolen a Runabout for a trip through the wormhole? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't an enemy Romulan ship coming through any second now?"

"That's why you should transport back to Deep Space Nine," she said calmly, still refusing to look at him. "What are you doing there anyway? I thought they'd barely got life support stabilised."

He regarded her silently for a few moments, "Chief O'Brien asked me to come; they're falling behind on the re-build. They need all the engineers they can get and he trusts my work."

"So he should, he taught you." Kira blinked hard, angry at the prickling of tears in her eyes," You wouldn't want to disappoint him and I'm leaving transporter range in five seconds."

Macet folded his arms, "I think I'll stay."

She closed her eyes and let her head flop back, simply unable to cope with him and what she was planning to do at the same time. "What do you think this is?" she said wearily, "A whim? A grand gesture? I had an orb experience." She pointed ahead of them. "I have to go into the wormhole to stop the Vetruvis and  _you_  weren't in my vision."

"So?" He closed his eyes, spread his arms and turned his palms up in a parody of prayer, "If my presence displeases them, then may the Prophets remove me." After a moment he opened one eye and looked around. "Still here," he raised his brow ridges at her and dropped his arms. "It seems they're happy for me to stay. I'll man the weapons, for all the good it will do."

He busied himself for a few moments, "So, why have you been avoiding me?" he asked, keeping his eyes on his work. "It's been nearly three months."

Kira compressed her lips, "You know why."

"Let's say I've forgotten." His mouth turned up on one side, "I'm getting on in years, my memory is not what it once was. Phaser banks at ninety six percent by the way, this Runabout is overdue for some maintenance."

"Never mind the Phaser banks." Her face crumpled, like a child fighting back tears, "I asked you to marry me and you said no." She took a deep breath and huffed it out, before making further adjustments to their course. "What more was there to say?"

"A great deal." He shook his head, "But you didn't give me the chance. You became a Vedek in  _three_  years, no one has ever risen faster in the service of the Prophets; many,  _many_  people believe you should be Kai."

Her face tightened, "Being your wife wouldn't stop me from being Kai."

"Really?" Macet pulled a face, "You think the Vedek assembly will elect a Kai with a Cardassian husband?"

She opened her mouth, then shut it and slammed a fist into the arm of her chair, "Don't you understand? I don't care! I don't even want to be Kai!" She turned towards him and punctuated her words with finger jabs, "I want to go to bed with you and wake up with you,  _every_  night." Something beeped and she slapped at the controls, triggering a chorus of affronted tones. She closed her eyes again and took a deep slow breath, "I've officiated at two weddings in the last six months between Bajorans and Cardassians," she said slowly and bitterly. "Why can't that be us? I've been the hand of the Prophets; I've done what they asked of me. Why can't I have what  _I_  want for once?"

"And how many things have you  _truly_  done in your life just because you wanted to?" He took her by the shoulders and squeezed them. "You should be Kai, not because you want it, but because you're the right person for the job and I won't stand in the way of that anymore than I would have stood in the way of your Starfleet career. Of course," he added, with mordant humour, "If you continue on this heading this whole conversation becomes moot; you can't be Kai when you're dead."

Kira pushed his hands away and turned back to the controls, "Well I am. Ten seconds to the threshold of the wormhole, if you're leaving do it now. I've prepared an escape pod."

"Not going anywhere," replied Macet in an irritating, almost singsong tone.

"I don't want you to die," she said desperately.

"I love you too," he said, reaching for her hand.

The wormhole opened, welcoming them in and wrapping them round in strings of coruscating blue.

* * *

...

...

...

There was a sound, like a heartbeat, but not. Kira was standing on -  _something_ , but her surroundings were simply -  _blue_.

She turned around; Macet was standing a little to her left, examining the environment with wary interest.

"Well, this is odd," he said, raising a brow ridge, "Who's that?" he pointed over her shoulder.

A figure approached from a great distance, walking very slowly, yet somehow managed to reach them in a few seconds.

"Is that a Prophet?" asked Macet incredulously.

"I hope so," said Kira. She took a step back and reached for his hand.

The Prophet was shaped like a man, a tall, slender man with both Cardassian and Bajoran features. Kira was instantly reminded of the statue that the Jevonites had taken as their symbol.

"The Hand has a task to complete," he said, in a flat and distant tone. Without question or apology he reached down and laid his hand on Kira's belly.

Kira automatically tried to knock his hand away. "What?" she snapped, " _What_  task?"

"The Hand has a task to complete," he intoned again. He removed his hand and went to stand before Macet. "This one has completed his task, we will return him."

"No." Kira stepped between them, "Our ship was destroyed, if you send him back he will die." She felt Macet grip her shoulder and his breath on the back of her neck, and all the time they'd spent together jumbled up and raced through her memory. She wanted to cry with fear. How could she have pushed him away?

The prophet turned his flat, pale eyes her way, "He has completed his task."

"What task?" Macet asked, baffled. He looked down at Kira, "You never said I had a task."

She shook her head in frustration, "I don't know what he's talking about." She turned back to the Prophet, "What task?"

The Prophet reached down and placed his hand on her belly again, "The Hand must complete her task; the circle must be made complete." He stared off into the unfathomable distance with blank serenity. Kira, wrestling with his hand - that this time, remained stubbornly welded to her lower abdomen - wondered what would happen if she punched him.

The silence stretched, the Prophet continued to stare at nothing and Kira gave up pulling at his hand and crossed her arms, glaring at him. Suddenly, Macet shifted and made an odd noise, as if the temple medallion had finally dropped. "Um, Nerys?" he said, with an expression of dawning astonishment. He peeked over her shoulder and down at where the Prophet's hand was resting, "Is there something you ought to have told me?"

"What?" she asked, confused, then light dawned. "Oh!" she shook her head again, mouth hanging open. "I  _can't_  be, it's been nearly three months and I haven't sneezed or  _anything_. Bajoran women only carry their children for five months, I'd be much bigger."

"He or she would be half Cardassian," reasoned Macet. "I haven't exactly studied the subject; but, our females carry their children for ten months. So, seven to eight months perhaps? And," he said triumphantly, if illogically, "Cardassians don't sneeze at all!" He looked up at the Prophet, "Is that what you're saying? Is Nerys pregnant?"

The Prophet's eyes flickered from their faces to the blue and back again, as if they were hard to look at for any length of time. His hand flexed and relaxed, finally dropping from Kira's stomach. "The Hand contains the linear progression of her line and yours. The circle must be made complete." 

Macet made an utterly silly whooping noise that should have been ridiculous for a man of his age, "You're pregnant!" he placed his hand on the spot vacated by the Prophet's. "You're pregnant," he repeated, more softly.

Kira felt like the universe had frozen and time had ground to a screeching halt, which it probably had considering where they were. "But, you never said... you never wanted... you're  _happy_  about this?"

"Of course I am," he looked at her as if she'd asked the silliest question since the dawn of time. "How could I ask it of you? But since it's happened..." His face fell, "I'm sorry, I didn't think, aren't you happy about it?"

"A baby," she whispered, trying the thought on for size. "A baby!" Joy blazed through her and she started to laugh, "I didn't realise; I thought it was just because I was getting older. I didn't know that you... " She placed her hand over his, squeezing gently. Then her face fell. "What are you planning to do with me?" she asked the Prophet, who had been standing there like an indifferent statue throughout.

"You must complete your task. The circle must be made complete," he repeated un-helpfully.

"They're a bit vague aren't they," said Macet, irritably.

"If you mean that I must have my child, then fine," said Kira, sharply. "I will complete my task. But, Akellan has to come with me," she jerked her head in Macet's direction to make sure the Prophet knew who she was talking about.

The Prophet looked faintly puzzled, "He has completed his task."

Kira tucked Macet's arms around her waist and pulled them tight. "He has  _not_  completed his task," she said firmly. "A father's job does not end at conception, at least it shouldn't."

The Prophet looked from Kira to Macet and then back again. An odd shimmer passed through his eyes. "The circle must be complete, the hand must complete her task, the other is necessary," he said, as if it was a new and revolutionary thought.

"That's right," said Kira, nodding decisively.

"The circle will be made complete," said the Prophet with more assurance. The blue light around them started to intensify.

"Uh, Nerys, where are they sending us?" asked Macet, gripping her firmly around the middle, as if he was afraid she would be yanked away.

"I don't know, but at least we'll be together." She raised an arm and hooked it around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss.

The blue vanished, and so did they.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credits
> 
> Thanks to Memory Alpha and Memory Beta, if it wasn't in there I mostly made it up.
> 
> Thanks to Rum and Monkey and DonJon who got me started with names.
> 
> Thanks to whoever thought of putting Macet in the reluanch novels.
> 
> Thanks to all who commented or KUDO'd, I was going to write this anyway, but it's nice to know someone is enjoying it.


End file.
